Former Correctional Officer and Two Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Prison for Scheme to Smuggle Contraband Into Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Breyanna Cornish, 30, Jawayne Brown, 41, and Ahmad Nasir, aka Hussain Abdussamad, 44, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have been sentenced by United States District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, in connection with a scheme to smuggle contraband - including drugs, phones, chargers, cigarettes, and knives - into the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center ("PICC") from April 2021 through July 2021.

Judge Pappert sentenced Cornish this morning to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. Brown was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison, a $2,500 fine, and three years of supervised release. Nasir was sentenced earlier this month to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

The defendants were charged by indictment in August 2024.

All three pleaded guilty earlier this year, Nasir to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, one count of federal program bribery, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of buprenorphine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of buprenorphine.

Brown pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, one count of federal program bribery, and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of buprenorphine.

Cornish pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and one count of federal program bribery.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendants, Nasir, who was then detained pre-trial at PICC, worked with Brown, who was not incarcerated, Cornish, who was then a PICC correctional officer ("C.O.") employed by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons ("PDP"), and several other associates to purchase and assemble contraband.

Cornish then smuggled the contraband into PICC, where Nasir sold the contraband to other inmates for a profit. Nasir then instructed associates to pay Cornish for her role smuggling the contraband into the prison and Brown for his work purchasing and assembling the packages.

On July 10, 2021, PDP conducted a search of the cell Nasir shared with another inmate. In a compartment in the ceiling behind a light fixture, officers recovered 19 cellphones, 20 cellphone chargers, one rapid charger, two super glues, two screwdrivers, one roll of tape, three hunting knives, one Ziploc bag containing the synthetic cannabinoid commonly known as K2, one Ziploc bag of tobacco, one alprazolam pill, and at least 110 packets of Suboxone.

Following the search of the cell, officers conducted a search of Nasir and his cellmate, and recovered a cellphone from each of them. Text messages and WhatsApp messages extracted from the phone recovered from Nasir's person revealed that from June 19, 2021, to July 6, 2021, C.O. Cornish, Nasir, and Brown discussed via text specific contraband items to be acquired, the delivery of contraband packages, and payments for the items and to co-conspirators. Nasir simultaneously sent messages to multiple inmates about the purchase and delivery of contraband.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with significant assistance from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Claiborne and Ruth Mandelbaum.

Note: the posting of this press release was delayed, due to the federal government shutdown from October 1, 2025, to November 12, 2025.