Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025
71 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months after a guilty plea and 142 months after a trial. Across the whole group, the median was 47.5 months (4 years), compared with 40 months in all 94 federal dist
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 › Money Laundering: District of Minnesota
In brief: 71 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months after a guilty plea and 142 months after a trial. Across the whole group, the median was 47.5 months (4 years), compared with 40 months in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 71 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.
The Gap Between Plea and Trial Sentences
60 of the 71 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 37 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 142 months, based on 11 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
The records give no case facts, so they cannot show whether the cases in the plea and trial groups were alike. Guilty pleas were 93% for money laundering in all districts and 94% for all offenses in this district. 97% of the guilty pleas in Minnesota had a written plea agreement.
Prison Terms Overall
64 of the 71 people (90%) received a prison term, and 5 (7%) received probation only. In all districts, 88% were sent to prison.
The median was 47.5 months (4 years). A quarter received 123 months or more, and a quarter received 16.5 months or less. For all offenses in the District of Minnesota, the median was 70 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Sentences Below the Range at the Government's Request
39 people (55%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. 23 (32%) were below it without a request, and 9 (13%) were within it. 0 people were above the range.
The within-range share was 25% for money laundering in all districts and 31% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum applied to 14 of the 71 people (20%).
Guidelines and Share of the District's Cases
The Commission assigns the offense type by primary guideline. In Minnesota, 65 people were sentenced under §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), and 6 under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
Money laundering cases were 2% of the 3,630 people sentenced in the district.
Supervision, Restitution, and Criminal History
63 people (89%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 48 (68%), and no fine was ordered.
76% were in the lowest criminal history category and 7% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Vary Widely
19 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 52 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs October 1 through September.
Yearly counts are from 1 to 23 people. The medians run from 0 months in 2018, for 1 person, to 135 months in 2023. With counts this small the yearly medians do not show a trend, and the records cannot explain the differences.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 115 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2017 | 7 | 55.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 6 | 15.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 23 | 46 months | 78% |
| 2021 | 8 | 8 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 2 | 43.7 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 9 | 135 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2024 | 4 | 22 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 6 | 69 months | 3 of 6 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included. It also gives no case facts, such as the amounts involved or the underlying offense.
Probation only means a sentence with no prison or other confinement. These figures describe groups of sentences, not any single case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Minnesota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Minnesota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (71). 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 District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Minnesota, 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.