18 U.S.C. 1957, Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 80 of 953 federal defendants charged mainly under 18 U.S.C. 1957 went to trial (8%), and 6 of those trials ended in an acquittal (8%). Most defendants, 772 (81%), pleaded guilty. Of the 846 convicted, 740 (87%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 4
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 1957
In brief: From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 80 of 953 federal defendants charged mainly under 18 U.S.C. 1957 went to trial (8%), and 6 of those trials ended in an acquittal (8%). Most defendants, 772 (81%), pleaded guilty. Of the 846 convicted, 740 (87%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 41 months (3.4 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 953 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
What Happened at Trial
A jury decided 75 of the 80 trials. Juries acquitted 3 defendants, which is 4%.
A judge decided the remaining 5 in bench trials, and 3 of 5 ended in acquittal. A count of 5 bench trials is too small to treat as a rate.
Across fiscal years, trials ranged from 3 in 2021 to 13 in 2018. No year had more than 1 acquittal.
The Statute by Its Heading
Section 1957 of Title 18 is headed "Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity". That heading is the only description this post gives.
Each of the 953 defendants faced this charge as a felony. None is listed at the Class A misdemeanor or petty offense level.
Pleas and Dismissals
Guilty pleas accounted for 772 cases (81%). Dismissals accounted for 101 (11%).
The Federal Judicial Center data counts each defendant whose case ended, including those dismissed and those acquitted. Charges may be dismissed on the government's motion, for instance after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case.
Conviction, by guilty plea or by verdict, came in 846 cases. That is 89% of the 953.
Sentences on the Section 1957 Charge
A prison term on this charge followed for 740 of the 846 convicted defendants (87%).
The median prison term was 41 months, or 3.4 years, counting terms of 1 month or more. The median is the middle term in a ranked list. Time ordered on other counts in the same case is not included.
Defendants by Type of Counsel
Retained private counsel appeared for 490 defendants (51%). A CJA panel attorney, meaning a private lawyer the court appointed, appeared for 218 (23%). Federal public or community defenders appeared for 208 (22%). 4 defendants had no lawyer at the end of the case.
Guilty pleas ended 87% of cases with a federal defender, 85% with retained counsel, and 78% with a CJA panel attorney. The CJA group went to trial 29 times with 1 acquittal (3%). Retained counsel went to trial 38 times with 4 acquittals (11%). Federal defenders went to trial 12 times with 1 acquittal (8%).
These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded when the case ends, and people who hire a lawyer face different charges and circumstances than people who are appointed one.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 208 | 87% | 7% | 12 | 1 (8%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 218 | 78% | 8% | 29 | 1 (3%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 490 | 85% | 7% | 38 | 4 (11%) |
| Self-represented | 4 | 2 of 4 | 1 of 4 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
Cases Ended Each Fiscal Year
The fewest cases ended in fiscal year 2020, with 53. The most ended in fiscal year 2025, with 131. The guilty plea rate was between 73% and 86% each year.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 85 | 73% | 16% | 9 | 1 (1 of 9) |
| 2017 | 110 | 84% | 6% | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| 2018 | 109 | 81% | 7% | 13 | 0 (0%) |
| 2019 | 69 | 81% | 10% | 6 | 1 (1 of 6) |
| 2020 | 53 | 81% | 9% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2021 | 64 | 81% | 14% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2022 | 103 | 82% | 14% | 5 | 1 (1 of 5) |
| 2023 | 108 | 73% | 19% | 8 | 1 (1 of 8) |
| 2024 | 121 | 85% | 7% | 9 | 1 (1 of 9) |
| 2025 | 131 | 86% | 5% | 11 | 1 (9%) |
Gaps in the Records
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this statute, so the figures are federal only. Nothing in the data shows the property or amounts involved, the evidence, or the reasons behind a dismissal or an acquittal.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 1957, any subsection (953), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1955, Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1956, Laundering of monetary instruments: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1958, Use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1959, Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.