Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Illinois, 162 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 150 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 41.5 months (3.5 years). The all-district median was 40 months. For all offenses in this district, it was 42 months.
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In brief: In the Northern District of Illinois, 162 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 150 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 41.5 months (3.5 years). The all-district median was 40 months. For all offenses in this district, it was 42 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 162 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.
Median Prison Terms for Money Laundering
Among the 150 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 41.5 months (3.5 years). A quarter received 72 months or more, and a quarter received 20 months or less.
The all-district median for this offense type was 40 months, which is about the same. The median for all offenses in this district was 42 months.
Probation only was given to 8 people (5%). In all districts, 88% of people sentenced for money laundering were sent to prison.
Government Requests for Lower Sentences
For 55 people (34%), the sentence was below the guideline range at the government's request. For 79 (49%), it was below the range without a request. Within the range were 25 (15%), and above the range were 3 (2%).
Across all districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the share was 29%.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 162 people, 152 (94%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was also 93%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 40 months. After a trial it was 67 months, based on 10 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The trial group is small.
Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas.
Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 30 of the 162 people (19%). Supervised release was ordered for 122 people (75%), with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 40 people (25%), and a fine for 11 (7%).
Which Guidelines Applied
"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline for most people was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), used for 152.
Another 10 people were sentenced under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements). In criminal history, 72% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 1% were in the highest (Category VI).
These cases were 3% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district.
Yearly Counts and Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 60 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 102 people. Fiscal year 2023 has the most, with 25 people, and fiscal year 2020 has the fewest, with 6.
The yearly median was 75 months in fiscal year 2019 and 35 months in fiscal year 2024. The records cannot show why the yearly medians differ. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 36 months | 85% |
| 2017 | 15 | 45 months | 87% |
| 2018 | 19 | 71 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 13 | 75 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 6 | 36 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 12 | 40 months | 83% |
| 2022 | 20 | 48 months | 90% |
| 2023 | 25 | 36 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 18 | 35 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 21 | 36 months | 100% |
Great Lakes and the Limits of the Data
Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation in the district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The Commission's data covers only convicted and sentenced people. It has no acquittals or dismissals, no laundered amounts, and no time-served figures.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (162). 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 Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, 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.