A Virginia man was sentenced on Tuesday, February 11, for his involvement in conspiring to distribute controlled substances and launder drug money. The conspiracy involved co-conspirators from both Massachusetts and Virginia.
A 21-month prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, was handed down to Kenneth J. Owens, a 24-year-old individual, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor.
In September, Owens admitted guilt for conspiring to distribute and possess MDMA and buprenorphine with the intention to distribute. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to launder money.
In December 2019 and January 2020, Owen collaborated with Sathra Em from Lowell, Mass., and Michael Mao, an inmate at The Buckingham County Correctional Facility, to illicitly transport three controlled substances into the prison.
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- MDMA
- Buprenorphine in the form of Suboxone
- Generic Suboxone sublingual films
While at the prison, Owen held the position of a correctional officer.
Em was involved in a conspiracy where she sent the drugs to Owen’s house and offered him $1,600 in bribes to transport the drugs and other illegal items to Mao in prison. Mao, in turn, facilitated the smuggling of these drugs to other inmates within the prison.
“Em collected the drug debts on behalf of Mao in the same Cash App accounts she used to pay the bribes to Owen,” a release from the Department of Justice reads. “Owen used a Cash App account with the name ‘Carlos’ to receive the bribes from Em, and he cashed out the funds to his bank account within minutes of receiving them.”
Em and Mao have already admitted their involvement in the conspiracy and pleaded guilty. Em was sentenced in August to a prison term of just under two years, followed by three years of supervised release.
In November, Mao received a sentence of 10 years and one month in prison, which would be followed by four years of supervised release.
