Former SC prison official accused of money laundering, selling 100+ phones to inmates

A former high-ranking South Carolina prison security officer has been indicted on numerous federal charges including smuggling contraband into prison and selling the banned items including more than 170 cellphones to prison inmates.

Christine Livingston, 46, a former S.C. Department of Corrections captain, was arraigned Thursday afternoon in federal court on charges that included money laundering, wire fraud and bribery.

Livingston, of Gaston in Lexington County, appeared in court in shackles and handcuffs. She made at least $219,360 from 2016 to 2021 smuggling contraband items into prison and selling them to inmates, a 15-count indictment in the case said. The items included 173 cell phones, headphones, screen protectors, phone chargers, sim cards, and other types of contraband.in transactions with inmates, the indictment said.

The phones were ordered from Amazon, and Livingston orchestrated payments from inmates through 14 peer-to-peer payment accounts, including through the mobile payment application Cash App. “Those accounts were operated primarily under pseudonyms, and they were linked to financial accounts in her genuine name,” the indictment said.

She also had ties to an in-prison gang, assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Daniels told Magistrate Judge Paige Jones Gossett during the arraignment hearing at the federal courthouse in Columbia.

“She would either allow or direct violence against inmates” who might inform on her to protect her scheme, Daniels told Gossett.

At the arraignment, Livingston pleaded not guilty, and her attorney, Connie Breeden, told Gossett that the charges against her client were just allegations.

“We are not here to try the case today,” said Breeden. Breeden also said Livingston has been “a good, upstanding citizen” and owns property and has children. “I don’t believe she is a flight risk.”

The indictment against Livingston also listed as a co-defendant a prison inmate, Jerell Reaves, 33, who is currently serving a 15-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter at the Broad River Correctional Institution, the prison where Livingston worked. His projected release date is July 2029.

It is against prison policy for corrections staff to have business, romantic or professional relationships with inmates, Daniels told Gossett.

“She violated all these,” Daniels said.

Reaves “paid and caused to be paid” some $48,000 in bribes to Livingston, the indictment said. Reaves and Livingston conspired with each other from July 2018, through in or around November 2021, the indictment said.

Livingston used two inmates as go-betweens in her dealings with inmates, Daniels told Gossett on Thursday.

The indictment said Livingston was a Class II law enforcement officer, meaning she could wear a gun and a badge and had arrest powers.

According to the S.C. Department of Corrections, Livingston began working for the prison system in 2005 and left her job in 2021.

Livingston resigned while an internal investigation of her activities was ongoing, a corrections spokeswoman said late Thursday.

When Livingston left her job, she was making $56,797 a year, according to corrections officials.

Gossett said Livington must post a $25,000 secured bond that had been requested by Daniels. Breeden had asked for an unsecured bond.

Daniels told the court that five South Carolina inmates were ready to testify against Livingston.

Livingston was arrested

Thursday morning by the FBI at the place where she worked as a security officer. “We don’t believe she was aware the FBI was investigating her before today, Daniels said in court.

The case was investigated by the FBI, represented by three agents who were present in the court Thursday.

Corrections director Bryan Stirling said, “People who wear badges and are sworn to uphold the law should be held to a higher standard. This woman broke the public trust in South Carolina, making our prisons less safe for inmates, staff and the community. We will absolutely not tolerate officers and employees bringing contraband into our prisons, and I’m glad she is being held accountable.”

The state prison system has approximately 5,000 employees.

Livingston’s case has been assigned to U.S. Judge Sherri Lydon.