> ## 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. # Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:46.000Z - Description: All 34 people sentenced for money laundering in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 36 months, compared with 40 months for money laundering across all 94 districts, where 88% were sent to prison. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) › Money Laundering: Central District of Illinois **In brief:** All 34 people sentenced for money laundering in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 36 months, compared with 40 months for money laundering across all 94 districts, where 88% were sent to prison. 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 34 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](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/). ## Everyone Sentenced Went to Prison In this district, 34 of 34 people (100%) received a prison term for money laundering. Across all 94 districts, 12,171 people were sentenced in this category, and 88% were sent to prison. The district's median prison term was 36 months, or 3 years. A quarter received 72 months or more, and a quarter received 24.8 months or less. The median across all districts was 40 months, and the median for all offenses in the district was 70 months. ## The Largest Group Was Below the Range The largest group, 53% (18 people), was sentenced below the range without a government request. Another 26% (9) were within the range, 18% (6) were below it at the government's request, and 3% (1) were above it. The within-range share for money laundering across all districts was 25%, and the share for all offenses in this district was 36%. The 26% here was close to the first and lower than the second. ## How the Cases Ended Of the 34 people, 28 (82%) pleaded guilty and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36.5 months, and after a trial it was 34.5 months. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 94%. Among the guilty pleas here, 71% had a written plea agreement and 29% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum applied to 5 of the 34 people (15%). ## The Guidelines Behind the Category "Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. In 33 cases it was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). One case used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements). Money laundering cases were 1% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district. ## Small Counts From Year to Year The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 12 people were sentenced, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 22. Yearly counts run from 1 to 7 people, and some years have none listed. The median was 156 months in fiscal year 2020 for 1 person, and 36 months in fiscal year 2022 for 7\. The records do not explain the differences between yearly medians. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 5 | 36 months | 2 of 5 | | 2017 | 4 | 48 months | 4 of 4 | | 2018 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 | | 2020 | 1 | 156 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 | | 2022 | 7 | 36 months | 7 of 7 | | 2023 | 1 | 120 months | 1 of 1 | | 2024 | 7 | 40 months | 5 of 7 | | 2025 | 5 | 32 months | 4 of 5 | ## Restitution, Supervision, and Criminal History Courts ordered restitution for 26 people (76%) and a fine for 2 (6%). All 34 were placed on supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. In criminal history, 88% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## What the Records Leave Out This data leaves out acquittals and dismissals, because it lists only people who were sentenced. The prison terms are the terms imposed by the court. The facts of the cases and the reasons for the sentences are not in these records. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (34). 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](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) - [Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [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.