Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
Of the 76 people sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 63 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 61 months. That median is higher than the 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Only 17% of sentences were within the gui
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY201 › Money Laundering: Western District of Kentucky
In brief: Of the 76 people sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 63 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 61 months. That median is higher than the 40 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Only 17% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 76 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
Within the guideline range were 13 of the 76 sentences (17%). Below the range at the government's request were 45 (59%), and below it without such a request were 17 (22%). 1 sentence (1%) was above the range.
Across all districts, 25% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%. Most of the departures here came at the government's request.
Prison Terms and Mandatory Minimums
Among the 63 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 61 months, or 5.1 years. A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 31.5 months or less. Another 7 people (9%) received probation only.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 30 of the 76 people (39%). Across all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 57 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Pleas and Trials
Guilty pleas were entered by 69 of the 76 people (91%), and 7 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and across all offenses in this district, 97% did.
The median prison term was 48 months after a guilty plea and 120.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Yearly Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 26 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 50 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The largest year was fiscal year 2022, with 15 people, and the smallest was fiscal year 2017, with 1.
Yearly medians range from 16.5 months to 120 months. Each rests on 1 to 15 people, so the table should be read as a list of small groups and not as a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 48 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 12 | 50 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 4 | 55.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2020 | 5 | 39.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 7 | 97 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2022 | 15 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 5 | 37 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 120 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2025 | 9 | 88 months | 8 of 9 |
Guidelines and Size of the Group
The primary guideline for 71 people was §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). Another 5 used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
The Commission's offense type "Money Laundering" covers 2% of the 3,229 people sentenced in this district. In all districts, 12,171 people were sentenced for it.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 63 people (83%), with a median term of 36 months, and 1 person (1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 13 people (17%) and restitution for 36 (47%).
On criminal history, 55% were in the lowest category and 7% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data counts only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and it does not describe the conduct behind any sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (76). 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 Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.