Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
From fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025, 32 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Wisconsin. All 32 pleaded guilty, 31 (97%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years). The median for all 94 districts was 40 months.
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In brief: From fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025, 32 people were sentenced for money laundering in the Western District of Wisconsin. All 32 pleaded guilty, 31 (97%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years). The median for all 94 districts was 40 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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.
How Many People Were Sentenced, and to What?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 32 people sentenced for money laundering offenses in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Money laundering cases were 2% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the district.
Of the 32, 31 (97%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 25.5 months or less.
Comparison With All Districts and With This District's Other Cases
For all 94 federal districts together, the money laundering offense type had 12,171 people. 88% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 40 months. The share sent to prison was higher in this district, and the median was about the same.
For all offenses in the Western District of Wisconsin, the median prison term was 59.5 months. The median for money laundering cases here was lower than that.
The Guideline Behind These Cases
"Money Laundering" is the Commission's own offense category. All 32 cases had the same primary guideline: §2S1.1 (Laundering of Monetary Instruments).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 32 people with that information recorded (25%).
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 28% (9 people). Another 28% (9) were below the range at the government's request. The largest group, 41% (13), was below the range without a government request. Above the range was 3% (1).
For all 94 districts, 25% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 32%.
Guilty Pleas
Every person in these cases pleaded guilty: 32 of 32 (100%). No one was convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were 93% for all 94 districts and 97% for all offenses in this district.
Among the guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
30 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (16%). Restitution was ordered for 20 (63%).
81% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 13 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 19 people. The yearly counts are small, from 1 to 5 people, and the yearly medians range from 6 months to 97 months. A median based on 1 or 2 people says little about the district.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 51 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 4 | 21 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 2 | 42 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 4 | 35 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 1 | 54 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 5 | 30 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 5 | 97 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 5 | 48 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 |
Limits of These Records
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 records do not show the amount of money involved or the underlying crime, and they do not explain why any sentence was set where it was.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Money Laundering" (32). 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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, 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.