RICHMOND, VA—Jermaine Brown, 37, of Chesterfield, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for accepting bribes in his role as a federal prison guard in exchange for smuggling cigarettes to inmates.

Brown pleaded guilty on Aug. 20, 2015. According to court documents, Brown admitted that he accepted bribes in exchange for providing contraband cigarettes to inmates while he was employed as a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institute–Petersburg. After providing the contraband cigarettes, Brown instructed the inmates to have their friends or family members wire transfer money to a known associate of Brown.

According to court documents, on or about Feb. 10, 2011, Brown’s associate picked up two Western Union wire transfers totaling $1,450 sent by or on behalf of the inmates, and the associate delivered the money to Brown as a bribe for providing contraband cigarettes to inmates at FCI Petersburg. As part of his plea, Brown agreed that he received and accepted a total of $3,050 in bribes from federal inmates.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Michael Tompkins, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert and Michael C. Moore are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:15-cr-93.