Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
The Western District of North Carolina sentenced 166 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 70 months, compared with 40 months in all 94 districts. Sentences below the guideline range at the government's request were the most common group, at 48% (80 peo
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In brief: The Western District of North Carolina sentenced 166 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 70 months, compared with 40 months in all 94 districts. Sentences below the guideline range at the government's request were the most common group, at 48% (80 people).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 166 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 Range at the Government's Request
The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. For money laundering in this district, 80 of 166 people (48%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. Another 38 (23%) were below the range without a request from the government.
Only 46 people (28%) were sentenced within the range, and 2 (1%) were above it. For money laundering in all 94 districts, 25% were within the range. For all offense types in this district, 53% were within the range.
Prison Terms
Of the 166 people, 160 (96%) received a prison term, and 4 (2%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 70 months, or 5.8 years. A quarter received 123.5 months or more, and a quarter received 39 months or less.
In all districts, 88% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The district's median for all offense types was 57 months, which is lower than the median for money laundering here.
How Many Went to Trial?
A total of 143 people (86%) pleaded guilty, and 23 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts in this offense type was 93%, and the rate for all offense types in this district was 96%.
The median prison term was 64 months after a guilty plea and 108 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 22 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Yearly Counts and Plea Rates
The district sentenced 95 people for money laundering in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 71 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly count fell from 34 in fiscal year 2016 to 6 in fiscal year 2025.
The plea rate differed by year. It was 100% in fiscal year 2017, 70% in fiscal year 2019, and 58% in fiscal year 2023. The medians were 87 months in fiscal year 2016 and 25.5 months in fiscal year 2025. Years with 6 people are too small to support a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 34 | 87 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 23 | 90 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 15 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 23 | 84 months | 70% |
| 2020 | 17 | 66 months | 88% |
| 2021 | 11 | 60 months | 82% |
| 2022 | 19 | 65 months | 89% |
| 2023 | 12 | 42.5 months | 58% |
| 2024 | 6 | 51.5 months | 4 of 6 |
| 2025 | 6 | 25.5 months | 5 of 6 |
Guidelines Used
The Commission's "Money Laundering" category is assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) was used in 162 cases. The other 4 cases used §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements).
Money laundering cases were 3% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Money Penalties
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 50 of the 166 people (30%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 152 (92%), and the median term was 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 7 people (4%), and restitution for 83 (50%). In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category (category I) and 2% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What Is Not Shown
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not show the amount of money involved or the underlying offense.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (166). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, 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.