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# Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:06:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:06:39.000Z
- Description: 31 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 28 (90%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 50 months (4.2 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 40 months and 88% of people were sent to prison.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) › Money Laundering: Southern District of Iowa

**In brief:** 31 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 28 (90%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 50 months (4.2 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 40 months and 88% of people were sent to prison.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A Wide Spread of Prison Terms

The median prison term was 50 months, but the range among those sent to prison was wide. A quarter received 124.5 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.

The all-district median was 40 months, so this district's median was higher. The median for all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa was 80 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Who Went to Prison

28 of the 31 people (90%) were sent to prison. 2 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 88% of people sentenced for money laundering were sent to prison, so the shares were about the same.

These cases were less than 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Laundering and Structuring Guidelines

29 cases used §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) as the primary guideline. 2 cases used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 31 people (16%). The records do not show which underlying crime produced the laundered money.

## Guideline Range

12 people (39%) were sentenced within the range. 10 (32%) were below it at the government's request, and 9 (29%) were below it without a request. None were above the range.

Across all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 37% were within the range. The share within the range here was higher than the all-district share.

## Guilty Pleas

30 of the 31 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. 97% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 46 months. The one person convicted at trial received 97 months, but one case cannot support a comparison.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

28 people (90%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 13 people (42%), and a fine for 1 (3%).

On criminal history, 77% were in the lowest category and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this cannot be compared with military cases.

## Counts by Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 16 people. Yearly counts in the table range from 1 to 7 people. Medians range from 12 months in fiscal year 2019 to 157.5 months in fiscal year 2016.

With so few people in each year, the medians change a great deal and do not show a trend. The records cannot show the reasons.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 4                | 157.5 months  | 4 of 4         |
| 2017        | 2                | 58.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 2                | 114 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 7                | 12 months     | 7 of 7         |
| 2020        | 2                | 16.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 4                | 46 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 2                | 57.5 months   | 1 of 2         |
| 2023        | 2                | 74 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 87 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 5                | 54 months     | 5 of 5         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not show the amounts laundered or any case facts.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.