Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
The median prison term for money laundering in the Southern District of Mississippi was 50.5 months (4.2 years) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, based on 34 people sentenced. That is higher than the 40 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. The share sent to prison was 82%, lower than th
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In brief: The median prison term for money laundering in the Southern District of Mississippi was 50.5 months (4.2 years) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, based on 34 people sentenced. That is higher than the 40 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. The share sent to prison was 82%, lower than the 88% nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 34 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.
The Median Prison Term and the Longest Terms
Of the 34 people sentenced, 28 (82%) received a prison term. Among them, the median prison term was 50.5 months. A quarter received 30 months or less, and a quarter received 220.8 months or more.
One person received a life sentence.
For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Probation, Fines, and Restitution
Another 4 people (12%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 88% of people sentenced for money laundering were sent to prison.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 28 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 24 people (71%). Restitution was ordered for 12 people (35%).
Pleas Compared With Trials
A total of 30 of the 34 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The district's overall guilty plea rate was 97%, and the rate for money laundering across all 94 districts was 93%. Money laundering pleas were therefore less common here than in the district's other cases and than nationally for this offense type.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 44.5 months. After a trial it was 470 months. The trial figure rests on 4 people, so it describes a very small group and does not show how trials generally end in this district.
Every person who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement (100%).
How Often Was the Guideline Range Followed?
The sentence was within the guideline range for 18 of the 34 people (53%). It was below the range at the government's request for 10 (29%) and below the range without a government request for 4 (12%). It was above the range for 2 people (6%).
Across all 94 districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. In this district, 53% were within the range, which is lower than the 69% for all offenses in the district. A mandatory minimum applied to 5 of the 34 people (15%).
Which Offenses Made Up the Group?
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Money Laundering" category, which sorts cases by the primary guideline. The most common was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), with 28 cases. Another 6 cases used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 76% of the people. None were in the highest category, VI (0%).
Cases by Fiscal Year
Money laundering made up 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 16 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly table has no row for some years, and each row covers between 2 and 7 people. Medians such as 168.5 months in 2017 and 30 months in 2019 come from very small groups, so they are not trends.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 41 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 7 | 168.5 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2019 | 4 | 30 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 2 | 133 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 85.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 192 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 38.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 5 | 87 months | 5 of 5 |
Limits of the Data
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also do not explain why one person received a longer term than another.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and none of these numbers describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (34). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.