Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 33 people sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Georgia, from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2025. 30 (91%) received a prison term, and the median was 46 months (3.8 years). Across all 94 districts, the median was 40 months.
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In brief: The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 33 people sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Georgia, from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2025. 30 (91%) received a prison term, and the median was 46 months (3.8 years). Across all 94 districts, the median was 40 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 33 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.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range 45% of the Time
Sentences within the guideline range were 45% of the cases (15 people). Below the range at the government's request were 39% (13 people), and below the range without a government request were 15% (5 people). None was above the range.
For money laundering across all 94 districts, 25% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 71%.
The Commission's data does not say what the government requested or why.
Prison Terms
30 of the 33 people (91%) received a prison term, and 3 (9%) received probation only. Across all districts, 12,171 people were in this offense type, and 88% were sent to prison.
The median prison term in this district was 46 months. A quarter received 90.8 months or more, and a quarter received 25.5 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 48 months.
These are terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 5 | 54 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 6 | 38.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 5 | 50 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2021 | 3 | 140 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 7 | 41.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 38 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 115 months | 2 of 2 |
Almost All Pleaded Guilty
32 of 33 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 50 months. The person convicted at trial received 24 months. One case cannot support a comparison between pleas and trials.
Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Which Guidelines Applied
"Money Laundering" is the Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) applied to 29 people. §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) applied to 4.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Supervision, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 30 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (21%), and restitution for 15 (45%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 33 people with that information recorded (9%).
In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest category I and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Are Small
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 21. The largest year is 2022, with 7 people. Single years have 1 to 7 people.
Yearly medians range from 12 months in 2024 to 140 months in 2021. Each rests on very few people, so the table does not show a trend.
What the Records Leave Out
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissals and acquittals are not in the data, and the records say nothing about the facts of any case.
Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (33). 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 Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, 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.