A Virginia man has been sentenced for his involvement in a drug smuggling operation linked to Massachusetts and Virginia. Kenneth J. Owen, 24, from Charlotte Court House, Virginia, received a 21-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV after Owen pleaded guilty in September 2024 to charges including conspiracy to distribute MDMA and buprenorphine, as well as money laundering.
The scheme involved Owen conspiring with Sathtra Em from Lowell and Michael Mao, an inmate at Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia. During December 2019 and January 2020, Owen facilitated the smuggling of drugs into the prison while employed as a correctional officer there.
According to court documents, Em mailed the drugs to Owen's home and paid him $1,600 in bribes for delivering them to Mao inside the facility. Mao then distributed the drugs among other inmates while Em managed the financial transactions using Cash App accounts.
Em and Mao have also admitted their roles in this conspiracy. In August 2024, Em was sentenced to a similar term of 21 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release. Meanwhile, Mao received a more extended sentence of 121 months in November 2024 with four years of supervised release.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Jodi Cohen from the FBI's Boston Division. Support came from several agencies including the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigations, and Virginia Department of Corrections. The case prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak III and Alexandra Amrhein.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling major criminal organizations through coordinated efforts across various agencies.