Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025
17 people were sentenced for money laundering in the District of New Hampshire in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 88% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 41 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 40 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2 › Money Laundering: District of New Hampshire
In brief: 17 people were sentenced for money laundering in the District of New Hampshire in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 88% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 41 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 40 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
A Small Group With Longer Prison Terms Than the District Overall
With 17 people, this is a small group, and every percentage below stands for only a few people. Money laundering cases were less than 1% of the 1,754 people sentenced in the district.
15 of the 17 people (88%) received a prison term, and 2 (12%) received probation only. The median prison term was 41 months, or 3.4 years. For all offenses in the district the median was 30 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less.
Comparison With All Districts
The Commission counts 12,171 people in this offense type across the 94 districts. 88% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 40 months, and 93% pleaded guilty. The district's share sent to prison matches that national figure, and its median is about the same.
Pleas and Trials
13 of the 17 people (76%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. For all offenses in the district, 98% pleaded guilty. For this offense type in all districts, the figure was 93%.
The median prison term was 41 months after a guilty plea and 45 months after a trial, based on 4 people sentenced to prison after trial. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas.
Sentences Rarely Matched the Guideline Range
12% of sentences (2 people) were within the guideline range. 47% (8) were below the range without a government request, and 41% (7) were below the range at the government's request. None was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 25% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 31%.
Guidelines, Mandatory Minimums, and Other Terms
The primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) for 13 people and §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) for 4. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 people (29%).
14 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 24 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (18%), and restitution for 4 (24%). 88% of the group were in criminal history category I and 6% in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Cases
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 12. The table lists only years with cases, and no year has more than 4 people. Yearly medians run from 1.5 months in 2022 to 154 months in 2017. These are very small groups and do not show a trend. The fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4 | 154 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 1 | 41 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 69 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 1.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 21 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 60 months | 1 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 30 months | 0 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people convicted and sentenced. It does not show the amount of money involved, the underlying crime, or the facts of any case. It reports terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Hampshire (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Hampshire") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (17). 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 New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, 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.