Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
181 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 80% received a prison term, with a median of 33 months, lower than the 40 months across all 94 districts. The most common result against the guideline range was a sentence below it at the gover
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 › Money Laundering: District of New Jersey
In brief: 181 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 80% received a prison term, with a median of 33 months, lower than the 40 months across all 94 districts. The most common result against the guideline range was a sentence below it at the government's request: 50%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 181 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.
Government-Requested Departures Were the Most Common Result
The records show the position against the guideline range for all 181 people. 50% (90) were below the range at the government's request. 25% (45) were within the range, 24% (44) were below it without a request, and 1% (2) were above it.
For money laundering across all 94 districts, 25% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%.
What the Offense Type Contains
"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline. 146 people were sentenced mainly under §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments).
34 were sentenced under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements), and 1 under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
The group was 3% of the 6,441 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms
144 of the 181 people (80%) received a prison term, and 24 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 33 months (2.8 years). A quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 88% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 40 months. Both figures were lower in New Jersey. Across every offense type in the district, the median was 37 months, so money laundering was a little lower than that as well.
A mandatory minimum applied to 9 of the 181 people (5%).
Guilty Pleas and Trials
174 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. More than 99% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 30 months. After a trial it was 72 months, based on 7 people. That group is small, and the records do not show why the medians differ.
Supervised Release, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
135 people (75%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 37 people (20%), and restitution for 79 (44%).
Prior record is scored in categories running from category I to category VI. 83% of this group had the least prior record (category I), and 1% had the most (category VI). The military records used on this site do not score prior record this way.
Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 71 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 110. Federal fiscal years begin on October 1.
Yearly counts range from 6 to 29 people. The medians in the table swing between years, and groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 29 | 48 months | 90% |
| 2017 | 20 | 26.5 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 16 | 22.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 6 | 37 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 10 | 33.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 11 | 53 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 17 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 23 | 36 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 20 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 29 | 24 months | 97% |
What the Records Cannot Show
A person whose case ended in acquittal or dismissal is absent from this data, so it says nothing about how often money laundering charges failed. The prison terms shown were ordered by the court and may differ from time actually served.
A military installation in New Jersey, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, appears in this site's court-martial data. Those cases go to military courts and are not part of these federal figures.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (181). 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 Jersey, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, 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.