Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Missouri, 377 people were sentenced for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 340 (90%) received a prison term, and the median was 100 months (8.3 years), compared with 40 months for all 94 federal districts. Only 10% of sentences were within the guidelin
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201 › Money Laundering: Western District of Missouri
In brief: In the Western District of Missouri, 377 people were sentenced for money laundering offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 340 (90%) received a prison term, and the median was 100 months (8.3 years), compared with 40 months for all 94 federal districts. Only 10% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 377 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.
Few Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
The guideline range was recorded for all 377 people. Only 10% (39) were sentenced within it. 61% (231) were below it at the government's request, and 27% (101) were below it without a government request. 2% (6) were above it.
For all districts, 25% of money laundering sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 204 of the 377 people with that information recorded (54%).
Prison Terms Were Long Compared With the National Median
36 people (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 88% of the 12,171 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison here, a quarter received 144 months or more, and a quarter received 50 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. The median for all offenses in this district was 72 months.
Pleas and Trials
362 of 377 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 15 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. In this district, 97% of guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 96 months. After a trial, it was 180 months, based on 15 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Guidelines Used in These Cases
Money laundering is an offense type that the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from each case's primary guideline. 370 people were sentenced under §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments). 7 were sentenced under §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
These cases were 5% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 339 people (90%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 9 (2%), and restitution for 32 (8%).
In criminal history, 45% were in category I, the lowest, and 16% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 158 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 219. Fiscal year 2023 had 71 people and a median of 125.5 months, the highest in the table. Fiscal year 2017 had a median of 61.5 months.
Counts range from 22 to 71 people per year. The records cannot show why a year had more cases or longer terms.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 60 | 97 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 31 | 61.5 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 33 | 96 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 34 | 96 months | 88% |
| 2020 | 28 | 102 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 22 | 104 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 40 | 96 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 71 | 125.5 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 27 | 72 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 31 | 84 months | 100% |
Boundaries of the Data
Only people convicted and sentenced are in the Commission's data. Acquittals and dismissals are not, and prison terms are those imposed, not those served.
Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB are in this district. Their courts-martial are handled by military courts and are outside this count.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (377). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.