> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:17:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:17:06.000Z - Description: The Western District of Arkansas sentenced 48 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 45 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 108 months, or 9 years. That median is higher than the 40 months for money laundering in all 94 federal districts. - 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-arkansas/) › Money Laundering: Western District of Arkansas **In brief:** The Western District of Arkansas sentenced 48 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 45 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 108 months, or 9 years. That median is higher than the 40 months for money laundering in all 94 federal districts. 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 48 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/). ## Longer Prison Terms Than the Nationwide Median The median prison term for the 45 people sent to prison was 108 months. A quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 63 months or less. For all districts, the median in this offense type was 40 months, and 88% of people went to prison. In this district, the share sent to prison was 94%. One person (2%) received probation only. The median for all offenses in this district was 72 months, so the money laundering median was also higher than the district's overall figure. ## Pleas and Trials 40 of the 48 people (83%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. The all-district guilty plea rate was 93%, so pleas were less common here. The median prison term was 97 months after a guilty plea and 135 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 8 people. Every guilty plea (100%) included a written plea agreement. ## Position Against the Guideline Range The sentence was within the guideline range for 20 people (42%). It was below the range without a government request for 16 people (33%), and at the government's request for 7 people (15%). It was above the range for 5 people (10%). For all districts, only 25% of sentences in this offense type were within the range, so within-range sentences were more common in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 48 people (13%). ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 44 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 10 people (21%), and restitution for 26 people (54%). In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Guidelines Used Almost all of these cases, 46 of 48, had §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) as the primary guideline. The other 2 had §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements). Money laundering cases were 2% of the 2,185 people sentenced in the district in these years. The offense type is the Commission's own category. ## Small Yearly Counts Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 13 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 35 people. The fiscal year begins on October 1. No one appears in the table for fiscal year 2019\. Yearly counts range from 1 to 11 people, and the medians range from 60 months to 235 months. With counts this small, the table cannot show a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 2 | 148 months | 2 of 2 | | 2017 | 6 | 64 months | 5 of 6 | | 2018 | 5 | 63 months | 4 of 5 | | 2020 | 1 | 168 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 5 | 102 months | 5 of 5 | | 2022 | 6 | 97 months | 4 of 6 | | 2023 | 6 | 235 months | 6 of 6 | | 2024 | 11 | 108 months | 64% | | 2025 | 6 | 60 months | 6 of 6 | ## What the Records Leave Out The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not show the amounts involved or the facts behind any sentence. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (48). 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-arkansas/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (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.