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# Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:55.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 149 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 135 (91%) received a prison term. The median was 40 months (3.3 years), the same as for all 94 federal districts. Only 10% of sentences were within the guideline range.
- 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 Eastern District of Michigan, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) › Money Laundering: Eastern District of Michigan

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Michigan, 149 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 135 (91%) received a prison term. The median was 40 months (3.3 years), the same as for all 94 federal districts. Only 10% of sentences were within the guideline range.

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 149 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 Were Rarely Within the Guideline Range

Within the guideline range were 10% (15) of the 149 sentences. Below the range at the government's request were 36% (54), and below the range without a government request were 54% (80). None was above the range.

For all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share within the range here is lower than both.

The Commission's data records the position of each sentence but not the reasons behind it.

## Prison Terms Matched the National Median

Of the 149 people, 135 (91%) received a prison term and 14 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 88% were sent to prison.

The median prison term was 40 months. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months, so the money laundering figure is higher.

## Which Guidelines Applied

"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, set by the primary guideline. In this district, 131 people were sentenced mainly under §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments).

Another 18 were sentenced under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements). Money laundering cases were 2% of the 7,508 people sentenced in the district.

## Pleas and Trials

Guilty pleas accounted for 137 people (92%), and 12 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, 96% did.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36 months. After a trial, it was 72 months, based on 12 people. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas.

## Mandatory Minimums, Release, and Financial Orders

The Commission recorded a mandatory minimum for 50 of the 149 people (34%). After prison, 131 people (88%) were placed on supervised release for a median of 36 months.

Courts ordered fines for 9 people (6%) and restitution for 41 (28%). Criminal history category I held 64% of the group, and category VI held 3%. Courts-martial do not record criminal history, so that measure has no military counterpart.

## Counts by Year

There were 67 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 82 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal years begin on October 1.

The table shows 9 to 20 people per year, with medians from 24 months in 2019 to 65 months in 2021 and 2023\. Counts this small do not support a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 10               | 55.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2017        | 19               | 60 months     | 84%            |
| 2018        | 19               | 30 months     | 84%            |
| 2019        | 19               | 24 months     | 95%            |
| 2020        | 14               | 40 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 9                | 65 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2022        | 19               | 42 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 11               | 65 months     | 82%            |
| 2024        | 20               | 38 months     | 85%            |
| 2025        | 9                | 38 months     | 9 of 9         |

## What Is Not Counted

The data covers convictions only. People who were acquitted, or whose charges were dismissed, are absent, and the prison terms reported were imposed by the court, not served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (149). 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 Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (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.