Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
The median prison term for the 45 people sentenced for money laundering in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 168 months (14 years). Across all 94 federal districts the median for this offense type was 40 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 23 of the 45 people (51%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Money Laundering: District of South Dakota
In brief: The median prison term for the 45 people sentenced for money laundering in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 168 months (14 years). Across all 94 federal districts the median for this offense type was 40 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 23 of the 45 people (51%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 45 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 Median Far Above the National Figure
43 of the 45 (96%) received a prison term, and 2 (4%) received probation only. A quarter of those sent to prison received 276.5 months or more, and a quarter received 65 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, 12,171 people were sentenced for money laundering, 88% were sent to prison, and the median was 40 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months. The money laundering median here was higher than both.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 23 of the 45 people (51%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute for the prison term.
All 45 cases used one primary guideline, §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). The group is less than 1% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district.
Guideline Range Positions
56% of sentences (25) were within the advisory guideline range. 4% (2) were below it at the government's request, and 40% (18) were below it without a government request. None was above it.
Within-range sentences were more common here than across all districts for this offense type, where the figure is 25%. They were about the same as for all offenses in this district, at 57%.
Pleas and Trials
40 of 45 (89%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 140 months after a guilty plea and 262 months after a trial, based on 5 people. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. The records do not show whether the trial itself changed the length of the sentence.
Cases Grew in Recent Years, With Wide Medians
8 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 37 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly count was 14 in fiscal year 2023 and 9 in fiscal year 2025. Fiscal year 2019 has no row in the table.
Yearly medians range from 53.5 months in fiscal year 2016 to 292 months in fiscal year 2020. The 292 months is a single sentence. The table shows a wide range, and the records cannot say what drove it.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 53.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 4 | 279.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 2 | 72 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 292 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 174 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 7 | 237.5 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2023 | 14 | 140 months | 86% |
| 2024 | 4 | 167.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 9 | 180 months | 9 of 9 |
Supervised Release and Other Orders
42 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 48 months. Restitution was ordered for 12 (27%), and a fine for 0.
In criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category I and 4% in the highest VI.
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. The records do not show the amounts of money involved. Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these federal numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (45). 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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South 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.