§2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Guideline §2S1.1 covers money laundering. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10,282 people were sentenced under it in federal court, 90% received prison, and the median prison term was 48 months. 47% were sentenced below the range at the government's request.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2S1.1
In brief: Guideline §2S1.1 covers money laundering. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10,282 people were sentenced under it in federal court, 90% received prison, and the median prison term was 48 months. 47% were sentenced below the range at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10,282 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
What the Guideline Covers
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2S1.1 "Laundering of Monetary Instruments; Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity." The title names laundering monetary instruments and engaging in monetary transactions with property derived from unlawful activity.
The Sentencing Commission counted 10,282 people with this as the primary guideline over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Below the Range More Often Than Within It
The most common position against the guideline range was below it at the government's request: 47% (4,873) of 10,279 cases with the information. 29% (2,989) were below the range without a government request. 22% (2,311) were within the range, and 1% (106) were above it.
A sentence below the range at the government's request was therefore more common than a sentence within the range in this group.
Prison, Probation, and Life Sentences
9,245 people (90%) received a prison term, and 736 (7%) received probation only. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years). A quarter received 97 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. The gap between those figures shows that terms in this group varied widely. 43 people received a life sentence. Probation only means no prison or other confinement was ordered.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
9,458 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 824 were convicted after a trial. 93% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 46 months after a guilty plea and 102 months after a trial, based on 811 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2,810 people (27%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
8,885 people (86%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. 7 (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 874 (9%), and restitution for 3,219 (31%).
Criminal history was mostly at the low end: 70% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest.
Stable Medians From Year to Year
The median prison term moved only between 46 and 50 months across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It was 48 months in 2016, 50 months from 2019 to 2021, and 46 months in 2024 and 2025. The earlier and later periods match: 4,298 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5,984 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, each with a median of 48 months.
The yearly count was lowest in 2020, at 755, and highest in 2025, at 1,170. The records do not show why.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,084 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 1,086 | 50 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 1,138 | 48 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 990 | 50 months | 91% |
| 2020 | 755 | 50 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 831 | 50 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 1,001 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 1,132 | 48 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 1,095 | 46 months | 90% |
| 2025 | 1,170 | 46 months | 92% |
What Cannot Be Read From This
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. The records also do not show how much money was involved or what offense produced it. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2S1.1 (10,282), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.