Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
Of the 85 people sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 71 (84%) pleaded guilty and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 82 months (6.8 years), compared with 40 months across all 94 federal districts. The median after a
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY201 › Money Laundering: Middle District of Tennessee
In brief: Of the 85 people sentenced for money laundering in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 71 (84%) pleaded guilty and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 82 months (6.8 years), compared with 40 months across all 94 federal districts. The median after a trial, 195 months, was higher than after a guilty plea, 78 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 85 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.
Pleas and Trial Convictions
In this district, 14 of the 85 people in the money laundering category were convicted after a trial. The guilty plea rate was 84%. Across all districts, 93% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the rate was 96%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 78 months. After a trial it was 195 months, based on 14 people sent to prison. The trial group is small, but it is large enough that the difference is worth noting. The records do not show the reason for it.
Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Of the 85 people, 80 (94%) received a prison term, and 5 (6%) received probation only. 3 people received a life sentence.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 82 months. A quarter received 204 months or more, and a quarter received 46.2 months or less. The national median for money laundering was 40 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 50 months. The median here is higher than both.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 44 of the 85 people (52%). Of the 85, 51 (60%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request, and 21 (25%) were sentenced below it without a request. Within the range were 11 people (13%), and 2 (2%) were above it.
Across all districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it was 26%. Money laundering sentences here were within the range less often than either figure.
What the Category Covers
"Money Laundering" is the Sentencing Commission's category, taken from the primary guideline at sentencing. In this district, 83 cases used §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). Another 2 used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
These cases were 3% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district. The records do not show what underlying offense produced the money involved.
Supervised Release, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 80 people (94%), with a median term of 42 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (2%), and restitution for 20 (24%).
In the criminal history records, 62% of people were in the lowest category, category I, and 11% were in the highest, category VI.
Fiscal Year Counts
The district sentenced 32 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 53 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal year 2024 had the most, with 26 people and a median of 96 months.
Fiscal year 2022 does not appear in the table because no cases were recorded for it. The yearly medians range from 42 months in 2020 to 180 months in 2021 and 2023. Many years have only 2 to 10 people, so the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 59.5 months | 70% |
| 2017 | 7 | 144 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 10 | 96 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 5 | 144 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 2 | 42 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 3 | 180 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 10 | 180 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 26 | 96 months | 77% |
| 2025 | 12 | 60 months | 67% |
Limits of This Data
Acquittals and dismissals are not in this data, which covers only people convicted and sentenced. Terms shown are those imposed by the court and are not time served.
Nothing in these records describes the facts of a case, so they cannot say why some people received probation and others life terms.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (85). 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle 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.