Lee corrections officer pleads guilty to accepting over $500k in bribery scheme
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Seven people have been federally charged and face up to 20 years in prison following a bribery scheme of over half a million dollars.
Included in those facing charges is an officer with the South Carolina Department of Corrections and two inmates at the Lee Correctional Institute in Bishopville.
52-year-old Kershaw County resident Lowanda Atkinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud inside the Matthew J. Perry Courthouse Wednesday afternoon. Atkinson was a corporal and corrections officer at Lee Correctional Institution for 16 years — where she was entrusted to enforce contraband laws and served as a gatekeeper of all property entering the prison for the last 10 years.
“Instead she used her position for accepting over $550,000 to $600,000 in bribes from inmates, and I’ll just point out if she made that much money, inmates made infinitely more money,” says U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Bryan Stirling.
Authorities say between August of 2018 and May of 2023, Atkinson accepted the bribes from inmates Jason Brown and Larry Williamson — Atkinson also having a romantic relationship with Brown.
Atkinson pleaded guilty to using potato chip bags to smuggle phones, phone accessories, marijuana, and tobacco into Lee — so that the inmates could then sell and distribute the contraband to other inmates. Authorities say she would then receive a portion of the cash proceeds and bribes — and use the money on high-end items including $50,000 on designer clothing, $6,000 on a Brazilian Butt Lift and chin liposuction, and thousands for two luxury vehicles.
Brown’s mother Mary Ann Hickman-Brown, his brother Christopher Hickman, his friend Courtney Briggs, and his nephew’s mother Adriana Conyers all face charges as well — all splitting the proceeds from contraband sales.
“Contraband is not a minor issue. It puts the prison staff and prisoners alike at risk and opens the doors to further criminal activity,” says FBI Columbia’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Jose Charriez.
Stirling says Atkinson started working at Lee in 2018 — the same year the Lee riots among inmates over contraband took place, though no correlation between her actions and the riots have been made.
Her annual salary, according to U.S. Attorneys, was $47,000 a year.
Stirling also continues his push for federal authorization to jam contraband cell phone signals behind prison walls.
“Without the contraband cell phone it becomes infinitely harder for this to happen,” says Stirling.
Judge Sherri Lydon has granted Atkinson a $50,000 unsecure bond. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced this December.
