Ex-S.C. corrections officer caught raking in more than $550K in inmate bribes
A former South Carolina corrections officer, two inmates and four other people were arrested after investigators uncovered their participation in a massive bribery scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina.
Lowanda Atkinson, 52, of Kershaw County, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, following her role as a corrections officer at Lee Correctional Institution, where she collected more than $550,000 in bribes, according to a news release.
Atkinson served at SCDC from 2007 until 2023, when she resigned at the rank of corporal, according to court documents and the release. She was assigned to the property room at Lee, where she was responsible for maintaining inmate property, searching the property for contraband and enforcing contraband laws and policy, the release said.
Two SCDC inmates along with their family and friends were also implicated in the case, including:
- Larry Williamson, 51, a former SCDC inmate, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of using an interstate facility to facilitate bribery and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of marijuana;
- Jason Brown, 43, an SCDC inmate, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud;
- Courtney Briggs, 39, of Sumter County, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud;
- Adriana Conyers, 37, of Sumter County, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud;
- Christopher Hickman, 46, of Richland County, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; and
- Mary Ann Hickman-Brown, 64, of Clarendon County, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment for Briggs and Williamson, while Atkinson, Brown, Conyers, Hickman and Hickman-Brown all waived indictment and agreed to plead guilty, according to the release.
Atkinson is accused of accepting more than a half a million dollars from Brown, Williamson and Brown’s family and associates in exchange for smuggling contraband into Lee, including cell phones and accessories, tobacco and marijuana, the release said.
Brown and Williamson would then sell and distribute the contraband to other inmates, according to the release.
The 52-year-old is alleged to have received a portion of the cash proceeds from the contraband sales and bribes through Cash App, Zelle and Apple Cash, the release said. It is further alleged that Atkinson spent the money on a luxury SUV, designer purchases and thousands of dollars in cosmetic procedures.
Each of the defendants face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, the release said.
The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia field office and the South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Daniels and Samantha Usher are prosecuting the case, according to the release.
