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# Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:03.000Z
- Description: 161 people were sentenced for money laundering offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 138 (86%) received a prison term, with a median of 36 months (3 years), lower than the 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 1 person received a life sentence.
- 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 South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Money Laundering: District of South Carolina

**In brief:** 161 people were sentenced for money laundering offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 138 (86%) received a prison term, with a median of 36 months (3 years), lower than the 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 1 person received a life sentence.

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 161 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 Wide Range of Prison Terms

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 36 months. A quarter received 101.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.

In all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 40 months. For all offenses in the District of South Carolina, it was 48.2 months. 17 people (11%) in this district received probation only.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The yearly table shows medians from 13 months in fiscal year 2024 to 98 months in fiscal year 2025, based on small groups.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 23               | 36 months     | 78%            |
| 2017        | 9                | 30 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2018        | 14               | 19.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 29               | 34.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2020        | 13               | 43 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 15               | 65 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 21               | 36 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 11               | 71 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 8                | 13 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2025        | 18               | 98 months     | 100%           |

## Sentences Below the Range Were Common

Of the 161 people with guideline information, 25% (40) were sentenced within the guideline range. 38% (61) were below it at the government's request, and 37% (60) were below it without a government request. None were above the range.

The within-range share was the same as the 25% for this offense type in all districts. It was lower than the 47% for all offenses in the District of South Carolina.

## Pleas and Trials

155 of 161 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The rate was 93% for money laundering in all districts and 98% for all offenses in the district.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 31.5 months. After a trial, it was 97.5 months, based on 6 people. A group of 6 is small, and the records do not show why the terms differed.

85% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 48 of the 160 people with that information recorded (30%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.

## What "Money Laundering" Covers Here

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Money Laundering" is a category that groups several guidelines. For 139 people, the primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). For 21 people, it was §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).

These cases were 2% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. There were 75 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 86 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

135 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 70 people (43%), and a fine for 1 (less than 1%).

On criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category, category I, and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Data Does Not Cover

Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts and are not counted here.

The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so it excludes acquittals and dismissals. It does not describe any case, and it cannot show why one person's term was higher or lower than another's.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (161). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (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.