> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:08.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:08.000Z - Description: The District of Puerto Rico sentenced 272 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 216 (79%) received prison, with a median of 36 months, and 48 (18%) received probation only. The median for money laundering in all 94 federal districts was 40 months, and 38% of sentences h - 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 Puerto Rico, FY2016–202](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-puerto-rico/) › Money Laundering: District of Puerto Rico **In brief:** The District of Puerto Rico sentenced 272 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of those, 216 (79%) received prison, with a median of 36 months, and 48 (18%) received probation only. The median for money laundering in all 94 federal districts was 40 months, and 38% of sentences here were within the guideline range, compared with 25% nationally. 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 272 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/). ## Sentences Within the Range More Often Than Nationally Of the 272 people, 103 (38%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 92 (34%), and below it without a government request were 74 (27%). Above the range were 3 (1%). For money laundering in all districts, 25% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 54%. The range is calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, and the records do not show the reasons for any single sentence. ## Prison Terms and Probation The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Money Laundering." Prison was ordered for 216 of the 272 people (79%), and 48 (18%) received probation only. One person received a life sentence. The median prison term was 36 months. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. For all districts, 88% of 12,171 people were sent to prison, and the median was 40 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. These are terms imposed, not time served. ## Laundering and Structuring Guidelines The most common primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), used for 223 people. Next was §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements), with 47. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 71 of the 272 people with that information recorded (26%). These cases were 3% of the 9,794 people sentenced in the district. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials A guilty plea was entered by 267 of 272 people (98%), and 5 were convicted after a trial. The national share was 93%, and for all offenses in this district it was 98%. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36 months. After a trial, it was 96 months, based on 5 people. That group is too small to show how trials and pleas differ in general. Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 212 people (78%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 12 (4%), and restitution for 11 (4%). Criminal history was low for most: 88% were in category I, the lowest, and none were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Year-by-Year Counts The district sentenced 110 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 162 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. Yearly counts range from 13 in 2020 to 41 in 2016\. Yearly medians range from 17.7 months to 60 months. The counts are modest, and the table does not explain the changes. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 41 | 30 months | 95% | | 2017 | 26 | 46 months | 96% | | 2018 | 19 | 24 months | 100% | | 2019 | 24 | 60 months | 100% | | 2020 | 13 | 17.7 months | 100% | | 2021 | 20 | 24 months | 100% | | 2022 | 23 | 35.5 months | 100% | | 2023 | 31 | 41.5 months | 100% | | 2024 | 36 | 53.9 months | 94% | | 2025 | 39 | 30 months | 100% | ## Limits of This Data Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and the amounts laundered are not described. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. These numbers cover federal cases only. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Puerto Rico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (272). 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 Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-puerto-rico/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (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.