Jermel Brown, Extortion, New Jersey 2013

A former senior corrections officer in New Jersey has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for using his official position to smuggle contraband to a prisoner in exchange for $12,000.

Jermel Brown, 35, of Camden, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to extort a cooperating witness who was incarcerated at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville, New Jersey.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Brown agreed to use his position as a senior corrections officer to smuggle items, including mobile telephones and music players, into the facility for delivery to a prisoner in exchange for cash payments.

Between July 2010 and July 2011, Brown and his co-conspirators, Kenneth Richards and Maurice Brown-Harden, conducted three transactions in which another cooperating witness outside the prison provided Richards and Brown-Harden with two mobile telephones and two portable music players and three cash payments of $4,000, $4,500, and $3,500 each.

Brown then used his official position at the prison to deliver the mobile telephones and music players to the prisoner inside the facility.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Brown to three years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, and fined him $1,000.

Richards and Brown-Harden previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced in 2012 to 18 months' imprisonment.

The investigation was led by the FBI, and the New Jersey Department of Corrections provided assistance.

Defendant: Jermel Brown

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to extort

City and State: Camden, New Jersey

Exact Date: [No specific date mentioned]

Sentence or Outcome: 30 months in prison, $1,000 fine, 3 years supervised release, 500 hours community service

Dollar Amounts: $12,000, $4,000, $4,500, $3,500

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/former-new-jersey-corrections-officer-sentenced-30-months-prison-extortion