18 U.S.C. 1960, Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Nearly every federal case under 18 U.S.C. 1960 ended without a trial. Of 350 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with this section as the most serious charge, 323 (92%) pleaded guilty, 26 (7%) had their cases dismissed, and 1 went to trial. Of the 324 convicted, 227 (70%) recei
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In brief: Nearly every federal case under 18 U.S.C. 1960 ended without a trial. Of 350 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with this section as the most serious charge, 323 (92%) pleaded guilty, 26 (7%) had their cases dismissed, and 1 went to trial. Of the 324 convicted, 227 (70%) received a prison term on this charge, and the median term was 18 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 350 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.
Only 1 Case Went to Trial
Only 1 defendant (less than 1%) went to trial. A jury heard that case, and it did not end in an acquittal (0 of 1). No case under this section was decided by a judge sitting alone.
With 1 trial, there is no acquittal rate to report in any useful sense. The results for this section come almost entirely from guilty pleas and dismissals.
Where the Count Comes From
The heading of Title 18, section 1960 of the U.S. Code reads "Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses". The defendants in this post had a charge under that section, in any subsection, as their most serious charge when the case ended.
The Federal Judicial Center records were counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. That method takes in every defendant whose case closed, including dismissals, rather than only those who reached sentencing. All 350 charges were felonies, with no Class A misdemeanors or petty offenses.
Pleas and Dismissals
The 323 guilty pleas made up 92% of all cases. The 26 dismissals made up 7%.
A dismissal in these records means the charges were dropped. It can include charges the government dismissed after the defendant pleaded guilty in a different case. Counting pleas and the single trial verdict together, 324 of the 350 defendants (93%) were convicted.
Was Prison Ordered on This Charge?
A prison term on this charge went to 227 of the 324 people convicted (70%). The others had no prison term recorded on this count.
Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 18 months. The median is the term in the middle of the sorted list. It is not an average, and it does not show the shortest or longest terms.
Counsel Recorded at the End of the Case
Private (retained) counsel represented 206 defendants (59%), the largest group. Of those, 97% pleaded guilty, 3% were dismissed, and none went to trial.
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, had 84 defendants (24%): 99% pleaded guilty, 1% were dismissed, and none went to trial. Federal public or community defenders had 43 defendants (12%): 93% pleaded guilty, 5% were dismissed, and 1 went to trial without an acquittal.
Defendants who retain a lawyer and those who are given one often differ in their charges and circumstances. These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 43 | 93% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| CJA panel attorney | 84 | 99% | 1% | 0 | 0 |
| Private (retained) counsel | 206 | 97% | 3% | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year
Fiscal year 2025 had the most cases end, 62, followed by 58 in fiscal year 2024. Fiscal year 2020 had the fewest, 14.
The dismissal share was highest in fiscal year 2024, at 17%, and in fiscal year 2020, at 14%. In fiscal year 2017, all 23 cases ended in a guilty plea (100%). Yearly counts this small do not establish a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 21 | 95% | 5% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 23 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 38 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 28 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | 86% | 14% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 25 | 96% | 4% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 49 | 94% | 4% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 32 | 97% | 3% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 58 | 83% | 17% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 62 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
What Is Not in the Data
The records group each defendant by the most serious charge at the close of the case. They hold no details about the conduct, the evidence, or the reasons for a dismissal. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal cases appear here.
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. 1960, any subsection (350), 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. 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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1962, Prohibited activities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2111, Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: 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.