Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
321 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 301 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 64 months (5.3 years), compared with 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 64% of sentences were below the range at the
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY20 › Money Laundering: Eastern District of Tennessee
In brief: 321 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 301 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 64 months (5.3 years), compared with 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 64% of sentences were below the range at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 321 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.
Most Sentences Were Below the Range at the Government's Request
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 321 people, 77 (24%) were sentenced within the range. 207 (64%) were below the range at the government's request, and 36 (11%) were below it without a government request. 1 sentence (less than 1%) was above the range.
For all 94 districts in this offense type, 25% were within the range. For all offenses in the district, 48% were. The within-range share here is lower than the district's overall share.
Prison Terms
301 of the 321 (94%) received a prison term, and 13 (4%) received probation only. In all districts, 88% of the 12,171 people were sent to prison.
The median was 64 months. A quarter received 121 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. 5 people received a life sentence. The all-offenses median in the district was 70 months, which is higher than the 64 months for money laundering.
Trial Sentences
307 of 321 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 60 months after a guilty plea and 380 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 14 people.
For all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, 98% did. Among the guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 136 of the 321 people (42%). The records do not say which statute set each minimum.
A Single Guideline
All 321 people had the same primary guideline, §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). Money laundering was 5% of the 6,452 people sentenced in the district.
In criminal history terms, 49% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
293 people (91%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%), and restitution for 19 (6%).
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 163 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 158. Yearly counts in the table run from 11 to 73. The yearly medians run from 37 months to 120 months. The records do not show what caused the changes, and years with 11 to 19 people are small groups.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 73 | 54 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 60 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 11 | 63 months | 73% |
| 2019 | 19 | 112 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 16 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 30 | 70 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 47 | 104 months | 87% |
| 2023 | 25 | 107 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 22 | 55 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 18 | 70 months | 94% |
Limits of the Data
This data covers convicted and sentenced people only, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the underlying conduct.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (321). 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 Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, 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.