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# Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:43.000Z
- Description: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 743 people for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Their median prison term was 24 months (2 years), compared with 40 months across all 94 districts. After a trial, the median was 120.5 months.
- 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 Texas, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) › Money Laundering: Southern District of Texas

**In brief:** The Southern District of Texas sentenced 743 people for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Their median prison term was 24 months (2 years), compared with 40 months across all 94 districts. After a trial, the median was 120.5 months.

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 743 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/).

## Shorter Median Terms Than Nationwide

Of the 743 people, 677 (91%) received a prison term, and 45 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 24 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. 3 people received a life sentence.

All 94 federal districts together sentenced 12,171 people for money laundering. Of those, 88% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 40 months. The median in this district was lower. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 69               | 24 months     | 97%            |
| 2017        | 103              | 37 months     | 93%            |
| 2018        | 101              | 30 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2019        | 71               | 36 months     | 87%            |
| 2020        | 53               | 23.8 months   | 92%            |
| 2021        | 83               | 18 months     | 99%            |
| 2022        | 66               | 24 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 57               | 29 months     | 89%            |
| 2024        | 80               | 21 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 60               | 24 months     | 100%           |

## Main Guidelines Used

Money laundering is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. Most cases used one of the primary guidelines below. §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) was the primary guideline for 464 people. §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) was the primary guideline for 272.

These cases were 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district in these years.

## Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Trial Sentences

A total of 709 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 34 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas here, 84% had a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial, it was 120.5 months, based on 34 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how the cases in the plea and trial groups differed, so the gap cannot be tied to any single reason.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Of the 743 people, 41% (305) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 30% (220), and below the range without a government request were 29% (213). Above the range were less than 1% (5).

Nationwide, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 58%. The Commission's data does not explain why sentences fell below the range.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Mandatory Minimums

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 561 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 58 (8%), and restitution for 87 (12%).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 77 of the 741 people with that information recorded (10%). In criminal history, 84% were in the lowest category and 1% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Period and What Is Not Shown

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 344 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 399\. Yearly counts in the table range from 53 to 103 people. The yearly medians range from 18 months to 37 months, and the records do not show why.

The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (743). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) (overview)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (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.