Kamel Smallwood, Bribery and Contraband Scheme, North Carolina 2022

New Bern, NC – In a shocking case of public corruption, former corrections officer Kamel Smallwood, 28, of Greenville, was recently sentenced to 12 months in prison for accepting a bribe as a public official and aiding and abetting.

Smallwood was one of four former employees of Rivers Federal Correctional Institution (Rivers CI), in Winton, to be charged in a five-count indictment on March 2, 2022, for their involvement in a bribery and contraband scheme. She pled guilty to the charge on July 6, 2022.

“Public corruption undermines the rule of law and, when it arises in our prisons, endangers corrections officers, staff, and the public,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Smallwood and Sykes put their greed for short term profits ahead of their oath to the public. We are partnering with the Office of Inspector General to investigate and prosecute corrupt correction officers like these who smuggle contraband into our federal prisons.”

“Smallwood’s actions undermined the safety and security of the Rivers Federal Correctional Institution. The Office of the Inspector General is committed to rooting out these kinds of bribery schemes and bringing the perpetrators to justice,” said Russell W. Cunningham, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office.

According to court records and statements made during hearings, in 2019, a former correctional officer at Rivers CI provided the names of several other Rivers CI employees that she believed were bringing contraband into the prison.

Based on that information, investigators obtained records from CashApp, a mobile application, for individuals including Smallwood and co-defendant Twonisha Sykes. These showed that between March 2 and March 12, 2019, Smallwood had four transactions or attempted transactions with user “Rico,” an account later confirmed to belong to Rivers CI inmate Francois Toure. Law enforcement identified a variety of other transactions in which inmates or friends, or family of inmates transferred money to Smallwood. In total, these transactions accounted for well over $10,000. Records showed that Sykes also received numerous CashApp payments from inmate Toure.

Co-defendant Twonisha Sykes was sentenced on March 1, 2023, and received a day of custody and three years of supervised release. Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related Federal Cases