Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
In the District of North Dakota, 76 of the 100 people sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request, and only 16 were within it. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years), higher than the 40 months for this
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–20 › Money Laundering: District of North Dakota
In brief: In the District of North Dakota, 76 of the 100 people sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request, and only 16 were within it. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years), higher than the 40 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. All 100 people received prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 100 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.
Requests for Lower Sentences
The sentence was below the guideline range at the government's request for 76 of the 100 people (76%). It was within the range for 16 people (16%). It was below the range without a government request for 7 people (7%), and above the range for 1 person (1%).
Across all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%. The records do not show the reasons for the requests.
Prison Terms
All 100 people (100%) received a prison term. The median was 72 months. A quarter received 37 months or less, and a quarter received 142.5 months or more. One person received a life sentence.
The median for all offenses in the District of North Dakota was 36 months. Across all 94 districts, 88% of people in this type were sent to prison. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 62 of the 100 people (62%). The same data shows 76% of sentences below the guideline range at the government's request. The records do not show how these facts relate in any one case.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
A total of 94 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, the guilty plea rate for this type was 93%, and for all offenses in the district it was 97%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 63.5 months. After a trial it was 240 months, based on 6 people. Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas.
Which Guidelines Applied?
"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and it groups cases by primary guideline. Of the 100 cases, 99 used §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). One used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
These cases were 3% of the 3,337 people sentenced in the district.
Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 97 people (97%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 16 people (16%). No fine was ordered for anyone (0%).
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 32% of the people, and 14% were in the highest, category VI.
Fiscal Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 45 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 55 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly counts range from 4 people in 2024 to 19 people in 2018. The median was 60 months in each of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, 39.5 months in 2022, and 148 months in 2025. The 2016 median of 214 months comes from 6 people. These groups are too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 214 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 7 | 60 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 19 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 13 | 60 months | 85% |
| 2020 | 14 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 5 | 66 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 14 | 39.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 10 | 95 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 4 | 116 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 8 | 148 months | 7 of 8 |
Limits of the Records
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and the sheet gives no dollar amounts or case facts.
Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, both in North Dakota, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal figures do not describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (100). 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 North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of North Dakota, 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.