Tampa Republic

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg has announced the arrest of Janai Chanel Stephens, 38, from Opa Locka, on a two-count indictment charging her with making a materially false statement or representation to a federal agency and providing contraband to a federal prisoner. If convicted, Stephens faces up to five years in federal prison. A federal grand jury indicted Stephens on May 28, 2024.

According to the indictment, on March 10, 2024, Stephens made a materially false statement to a Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer regarding whether she was in possession of tobacco when she entered the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. She subsequently provided the tobacco to an inmate at that facility.

An indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a federal criminal offense. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted as part of a U.S. Department of Justice task force aimed at rooting out contraband and misconduct in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The task force was led by the BOP and the DOJ Office of the Inspector General, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

The case is being investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.