Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
31 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 27 (87%) received a prison term, and the median was 92 months, or 7.7 years. Only 19% of sentences were within the guideline range, and 45% were below it at the government's request.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016– › Money Laundering: Middle District of Alabama
In brief: 31 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 27 (87%) received a prison term, and the median was 92 months, or 7.7 years. Only 19% of sentences were within the guideline range, and 45% were below it at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 31 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 Guideline Range
Of the 31 people, 14 (45%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request, and 10 (32%) were below it without a request. 6 (19%) were within the range, and 1 (3%) was above it.
For all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range, which is higher than here. For all offenses in this district, the within-range figure was 47%.
The records do not show the reasons for any below-range sentence.
Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 27 people sent to prison was 92 months. A quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 19 months or less. 2 people (6%) received probation only.
Across all districts, 88% of people in this offense type went to prison, with a median of 40 months. The median here was higher. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
Trials and Pleas
28 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The all-district guilty plea rate was 93%.
The median was 76 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Orders
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 31 people (19%).
27 people (87%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (13%), and restitution for 7 people (23%).
In criminal history, 61% were in the lowest category, category I, and 13% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Guidelines and Share of the District
30 people had §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) as the primary guideline, and 1 had §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
Money laundering was 2% of the 2,037 people sentenced in the district. The offense type is the Commission's category.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 17 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 14 people. The most in one year was 8 people.
The medians in the table range from 24 months to 300 months, but several years have 1 or 2 people. The table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | 60.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 5 | 93.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 8 | 108 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2020 | 1 | 300 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 174 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2023 | 1 | 300 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 52.5 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2025 | 6 | 53 months | 6 of 6 |
Maxwell AFB and Limits
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (31). 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 Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, 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.