Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Michigan, 33 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 27 (82%) received a prison term. Only 30% of sentences were within the guideline range, and 36% were below it at the government's request. The median prison term was 48 months (4 year
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY201 › Money Laundering: Western District of Michigan
In brief: In the Western District of Michigan, 33 people were sentenced for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 27 (82%) received a prison term. Only 30% of sentences were within the guideline range, and 36% were below it at the government's request. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years), compared with 40 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 33 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 Often Departed From the Guideline Range
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's guidelines give a recommended sentencing range for each case. In this district's money laundering group, 10 of the 33 sentences (30%) were within that range.
A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 12 people (36%). Another 10 (30%) were below the range without a government request, and 1 (3%) was above the range.
Across all districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 54% of sentences were.
Prison Terms
Of the 33 people, 27 (82%) were sent to prison and 4 (12%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
The median prison term was 48 months. The national median for this offense type was 40 months, and 88% of people nationally were sent to prison. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months.
The terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 28 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty, and the district's figure for all offenses was 96%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 39 months. After a trial it was 120 months, based on 5 people. Among the guilty pleas, 82% had a written plea agreement and 18% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 33 people (12%).
Guidelines and Offense Type
Money Laundering is one of the Commission's offense types, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. In this district, 31 cases used §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments), and 2 used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
These cases were 1% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 26 people (79%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 8 (24%), and restitution for 17 (52%).
By criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category, category I, and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
A Table With Gaps and Wide Swings
From fiscal year 2016 to 2019 there were 11 people, and from 2020 to 2025 there were 22. The yearly table has no rows for 2020 and 2024, and each listed year has between 1 and 7 people.
Medians run from 0 months in 2019 to 150 months in 2021, but each year rests on a few cases. A median of 0 months means the middle sentence in that group involved no prison.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 99 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2017 | 2 | 56 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 22.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 5 | 150 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2022 | 5 | 31.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 5 | 30 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 7 | 96 months | 6 of 7 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (33). 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 Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, 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.