Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
Of 159 people sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 123 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 36 months. The 7 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 216 months.
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In brief: Of 159 people sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 123 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 36 months. The 7 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 216 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 159 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.
Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 159 people in this district whose offense type was "Money Laundering." Of these, 123 (77%) received a prison term, and 22 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. One person received a life sentence.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less.
The national figures for this offense type are 88% sent to prison and a median of 40 months. Here the share sent to prison was lower and the median was about the same.
Convictions After Trial
Guilty pleas accounted for 152 of the 159 people (96%), compared with 93% across all districts. The other 7 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36 months. After a trial it was 216 months, based on 7 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. With 7 cases, no pattern can be described, and the records do not show why those cases went to trial.
Written plea agreements covered 97% of the guilty pleas, and 3% were straight pleas.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Of the 159 people, 70 (44%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Another 41 (26%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 48 (30%) were sentenced within it. No one was sentenced above the range.
The comparison figure for all districts is 25% within the range, which is lower than the 30% here. The figure for all offenses in this district is 38%, which is higher than the share for money laundering.
Mandatory Minimums and Other Orders
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 49 of the 157 people with that information recorded (31%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 108 people (68%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 21 people (13%), and restitution for 33 (21%).
In criminal history, 65% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Primary Guidelines and Share of the District
Money laundering cases were 4% of the 4,460 people sentenced in the district in the period. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 48 months and 98% pleaded guilty.
§2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments) was the primary guideline for 148 people. §2S1.3 (Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements) was the primary guideline for 4.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 51 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 108. The table has one row for each fiscal year (October through September). Yearly counts range from 10 to 23 people, and the yearly medians range from 16.5 months to 79.5 months.
Single years in these counts are too small to show a trend. The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed at sentencing and are not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 17 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 12 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 10 | 56 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 16 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 15 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 23 | 30 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 18 | 69 months | 83% |
| 2024 | 16 | 79.5 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 20 | 48 months | 95% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (159). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, 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.