> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2s1-3-structuring-transactions-to-evade-reporting-requirements-fy2023/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:48.000Z - Description: 172 people were sentenced under §2S1.3 in fiscal year 2023, and 139 of them (81%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 9.5 months, which is lower than the 12 months in fiscal year 2022. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requireme](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2s1-3-structuring-transactions-to-evade-reporting-requirements/) › §2S1.3: FY2023 **In brief:** 172 people were sentenced under §2S1.3 in fiscal year 2023, and 139 of them (81%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 9.5 months, which is lower than the 12 months in fiscal year 2022. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 172 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## A Median of 9.5 Months Among the 139 people who went to prison, the median prison term was 9.5 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. The 2022 median was 12 months, and the 2024 median was 6.7 months. Prison was the sentence for 81% of the group, and 24 people (14%) received probation only. These are single-year figures, and the records do not say why the median was lower. ## The Offenses Under This Guideline The Guidelines Manual title for §2S1.3 is "Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements; Failure to Report Cash or Monetary Transactions; Failure to File Currency and Monetary Instrument Report; Knowingly Filing False Reports; Bulk Cash Smuggling; Establishing or Maintaining Prohibited Accounts." All 172 cases fall in the Commission's Money Laundering offense type. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023\. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are included. ## Only 1 Person Went to Trial 171 of 172 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. That person was sent to prison for 86 months. The median after a guilty plea was 9.5 months. A single case cannot be compared with the plea group. Among the guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas. ## Position Against the Guideline Range The Commission had this information for 171 people. 78 (46%) were within the range. 39 (23%) were below it at the government's request, 45 (26%) were below it without a request, and 9 (5%) were above it. In fiscal year 2022, 44% of §2S1.3 sentences were within the range, and in fiscal year 2024 it was 40%. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023 the figure was 42%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of 172 people. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 126 people (73%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 35 (20%), and restitution for 15 (9%). The lowest criminal history category held 88% of the group, and less than 1% were in the highest. No criminal history field exists in court-martial records. ## How This Year Fits the Larger Numbers In fiscal year 2023, 64,124 people were sentenced across all guidelines. The median prison term was 30 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. The §2S1.3 median was lower than that. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,782 people were sentenced under §2S1.3\. 75% were sent to prison, the median was 10 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. The 2023 median is a little lower than the 2016 to 2025 median. The table lists every year, including 185 people in fiscal year 2022 and 177 in fiscal year 2024. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 257 | 12 months | 97% | | 2017 | 174 | 12 months | 99% | | 2018 | 152 | 12 months | 98% | | 2019 | 177 | 10 months | 98% | | 2020 | 113 | 10 months | more than 99% | | 2021 | 190 | 12 months | 99% | | 2022 | 185 | 12 months | 98% | | 2023 | 172 | 9.5 months | more than 99% | | 2024 | 177 | 6.7 months | 98% | | 2025 | 185 | 8 months | 98% | ## What the Records Do Not Show No close court-martial counterpart is listed in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports federal numbers on their own. The data gives no details of the conduct in these cases. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2S1.3 (172), U.S. Sentencing Commission 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. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2s1-3-structuring-transactions-to-evade-reporting-requirements/) (overview) - [§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2s1-3-structuring-transactions-to-evade-reporting-requirements-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2s1-3-structuring-transactions-to-evade-reporting-requirements-fy2024/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.