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# Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-district-of-montana/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:35.000Z
- Description: The District of Montana sentenced 48 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A mandatory minimum applied to 25 of them (52%), and the median prison term was 61.5 months (5.1 years), compared with 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.
- 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 District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) › Money Laundering: District of Montana

**In brief:** The District of Montana sentenced 48 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. A mandatory minimum applied to 25 of them (52%), and the median prison term was 61.5 months (5.1 years), compared with 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.

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 48 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/).

## A Mandatory Minimum Applied to 52%

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 25 of the 48 people with that information recorded, which is 52%. A prison term was imposed on 44 people (92%), and 3 (6%) received probation only.

Money laundering cases were 1% of the 3,524 people sentenced in the District of Montana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Prison Terms Compared With Other Groups

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 61.5 months. A quarter received 121.2 months or more, and a quarter received 34.5 months or less.

In all 94 districts, 12,171 people were sentenced for money laundering, 88% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 40 months. The Montana median is higher. The median for all offenses in Montana was also 40 months.

## Below the Guideline Range, Mostly at the Government's Request

Of the 48 people, 26 (54%) received a term below the guideline range at the government's request. Another 13 (27%) received a term below it without that request, and 9 (19%) were sentenced within the range. None was above the range.

In all districts, 25% of sentences for this offense type were within the range, and for all offenses in Montana the share was 33%.

## Which Guidelines Applied

The most common primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), with 45 people. Another 3 people were sentenced under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).

## Pleas and Trials

A total of 46 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 61.5 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 77.5 months, based on only 2 people.

Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement, and 2% were straight pleas.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release was ordered for 43 people (90%), with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and restitution for 17 (35%).

In criminal history category I, the lowest, 60% of the group were placed, and 10% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Fiscal Year Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 24 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 24 people. The table lists between 1 and 10 people per year. Yearly medians range from 21 months to 288 months, and the 288-month figure comes from 1 person. These counts are too small to show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 106 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 10               | 63 months     | 100%           |
| 2018        | 6                | 135.5 months  | 6 of 6         |
| 2019        | 6                | 70 months     | 5 of 6         |
| 2020        | 5                | 21 months     | 4 of 5         |
| 2021        | 4                | 124 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 6                | 38 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2023        | 6                | 84 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2024        | 1                | 288 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 2                | 126 months    | 2 of 2         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

Malmstrom AFB, Montana, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the amount of money involved.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Montana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Montana") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (48). 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 District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-montana/) (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.