BOP Inmate Sentenced for Conspiring to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud and Conspiring to Provide and Possess Prison Contraband

On June 10, 2025, a BOP inmate, Anthony Ellison, previously assigned to the Metropolitan Correctional Center New York (MCC New York) in New York, was sentenced to 29 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for one count of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiring to provide and possess prison contraband, including marijuana and other controlled substances in the Southern District of New York. According to the Indictment, public court filings and proceedings, and the evidence presented at trial, between approximately October 2019 and January 2021, at least 8 inmates housed within the MCC New York, including Ellison, paid bribes to BOP personnel in exchange for introducing large amounts of contraband, including drugs such as oxycodone, alprazolam, suboxone, marijuana, and synthetic cannabinoids, dozens of cell phones, and cartons of cigarettes, into the MCC New York.  BOP inmates, including Ellison, then sold much of the contraband to other inmates at a profit as part of a widespread illicit market within the MCC New York; the investigation is being conducted by the OIG’s New York Office, CBP OPR, and the FBI.