Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 184 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Ohio, and 165 (90%) received a prison term. The median was 45 months (3.8 years), compared with 40 months in all 94 federal districts.
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 184 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Southern District of Ohio, and 165 (90%) received a prison term. The median was 45 months (3.8 years), compared with 40 months in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 184 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 Below the Guideline Range Were the Norm
For 112 of the 184 people (61%), the sentence was below the guideline range at the government's request. For 40 (22%) it was below the range without a request. The sentence was within the range for 29 people (16%) and above it for 3 (2%).
In all districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 27% were.
Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 165 people sent to prison was 45 months. A quarter received 74 months or more, and a quarter received 22 months or less. Probation only was the sentence for 13 people (7%).
In all districts, 88% of 12,171 people were sent to prison for money laundering. For all offenses in the Southern District of Ohio, the median was 36 months, which is lower than the median here.
Which Guidelines Were Used
"Money Laundering" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline in each case. In this district, 175 cases used §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), and 9 used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
Money laundering cases were 3% of the 5,580 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
Of the 184 people, 179 (97%) pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 44 months after a guilty plea and 83 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 5 people.
Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Nationwide, 93% pleaded guilty. The records do not include cases that ended in dismissal or acquittal, so they cannot show how many people were charged with money laundering in total.
Mandatory Minimums, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 25 of the 184 people (14%). Restitution was ordered for 74 (40%), and a fine for 13 (7%).
Supervised release was ordered for 163 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. In criminal history, 66% were in the lowest category and 2% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Numbers and What They Cannot Show
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 79 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 105. Yearly counts ranged from 8 in fiscal year 2022 to 27 in fiscal year 2019, and yearly medians from 28.5 months to 72 months. Groups this small move easily, and the records cannot explain the changes.
Wright-Patterson AFB is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The data reports terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 46 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 17 | 39 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 23 | 43 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 27 | 42.5 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 17 | 34.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 17 | 72 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 8 | 28.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2023 | 25 | 41 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 24 | 63 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 14 | 46 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (184). 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, 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.