BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Fabienne Osias, 40, a former federal correction officer employed by the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP), pled guilty on Thursday to smuggling cell phone chargers into the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. The plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry.
Osias, who resigned from the BOP on August 23, 2024, admitted to attempting to provide an inmate at the MDC with five Universal Serial Bus (USB) charging cubes and nine USB charging cables on February 28, 2023. These items, commonly used with cell phones, are prohibited in federal prisons under the Cell Phone Contraband Act of 2010, which bars unauthorized persons, including inmates, from possessing cell phones and related devices.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace highlighted the severity of Osias’s actions, stating, “The defendant abused her position of trust to smuggle cell phone chargers into the Metropolitan Detention Center. Contraband cell phones enable federal inmates to continue committing crimes even while they are in custody at the MDC, which endangers both the jail population and the community at large.”
Special Agent in Charge Ryan T. Geach of the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Region, reiterated the dangers posed by contraband in prisons and underscored the agency’s commitment to holding accountable any correctional officers who violate their duties.
Osias faces up to one year in prison when sentenced. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara K. Winik of the Office’s Public Integrity Section.