Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
In the Central District of California, 53 of the 336 people sentenced for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 27 months after a guilty plea and 76.5 months after a trial. Among all those sent to prison, the median was 30 mon
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In brief: In the Central District of California, 53 of the 336 people sentenced for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 27 months after a guilty plea and 76.5 months after a trial. Among all those sent to prison, the median was 30 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 336 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.
Pleas and Trials
Guilty pleas accounted for 283 of 336 cases (84%). The other 53 people were convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 27 months after a guilty plea. After a trial, it was 76.5 months, based on 52 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how the plea and trial groups differed in other ways.
Prison Terms Overall
Of the 336 people, 271 (81%) received a prison term and 31 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term was 30 months, or 2.5 years. A quarter received 78 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less.
For all districts, 88% of 12,171 people were sent to prison, and the median was 40 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Which Guidelines Were Used
"Money Laundering" is the Sentencing Commission's offense category. The most common primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), with 271 people. Next was §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) with 63, and 1 person was sentenced under §2X1.1, which covers attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy.
Money laundering cases were 3% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.
Sentences and the Guideline Range
The guideline range is calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of 336 people, 21% (70) were within the range. Another 42% (140) were below it at the government's request, and 35% (119) were below it without a government request. Above the range were 2% (7).
The within-range share was 25% for all districts and 29% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 49 of the 336 people (15%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 269 people (80%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 62 (18%), and restitution for 124 (37%).
On criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category and 2% in the highest. Among guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 128 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 208 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
Yearly counts in the table range from 20 to 50, and yearly medians range from 19.5 months to 54.5 months. Because each year has few people, 1 or 2 cases can change a median. The records do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 32 | 24 months | 88% |
| 2017 | 23 | 24 months | 87% |
| 2018 | 30 | 24 months | 87% |
| 2019 | 43 | 33 months | 72% |
| 2020 | 20 | 54.5 months | 75% |
| 2021 | 20 | 24 months | 90% |
| 2022 | 35 | 36 months | 86% |
| 2023 | 50 | 41 months | 86% |
| 2024 | 42 | 19.5 months | 83% |
| 2025 | 41 | 46 months | 90% |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the amount of money in each case is not part of these figures.
Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. These numbers are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (336). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.