Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
Only 10 of the 53 people sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (19%) received a sentence within the guideline range. Most were sentenced below it, and 28 of them (53%) at the government's request. The median prison term was 60 months.
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In brief: Only 10 of the 53 people sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (19%) received a sentence within the guideline range. Most were sentenced below it, and 28 of them (53%) at the government's request. The median prison term was 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 53 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
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 53 people, 10 (19%) were sentenced within it, and none was sentenced above it.
Below the range at the government's request were 28 people (53%). Below the range without a government request were 15 (28%).
For all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 53%.
Prison Terms
Of the 53 people, 45 (85%) received a prison term and 5 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years).
A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 23 months or less. In all 94 districts, 88% were sent to prison and the median was 40 months, so this district's median is higher.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 20 of the 53 people (38%). A mandatory minimum is a sentence floor set by statute, and the records do not show which statute set each one.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
The district sentenced 18 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 35 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No year had more than 9 people.
The yearly medians in the table range from 14 months to 219 months. Groups this small can change a median a great deal, and the records do not explain the differences.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 36 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 2 | 84 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 6 | 28 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 9 | 108 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 9 | 14 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 2 | 41.1 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 5 | 84 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2024 | 4 | 78 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 6 | 219 months | 6 of 6 |
Guilty Pleas and One Trial
Of the 53 people, 52 (98%) pleaded guilty. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial, and that person's prison term was 33 months.
The median after a guilty plea was 62 months. A single trial case cannot be compared with the plea cases. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
Guidelines and Criminal History
"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) for 51 people and §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) for 2.
In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Money laundering cases were 1% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months and 98% of people pleaded guilty, compared with 93% of money laundering cases in all 94 districts.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 45 people (85%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (11%), and restitution for 16 (30%).
What Cannot Be Learned Here
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so it has no acquittals or dismissals. It does not show the amount of money involved, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (53). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, 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.