United States of America v. Adhanom Fetewi Weldemariam, aka Adhanom Weldemariam

Austin, Texas, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with bribery.

Waldemar Perez, 49, worked as a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Bastrop from approximately May 23, 2021, to May 11, 2023. While employed there as a public official, he developed a business and practice of smuggling prohibited items into FCI Bastrop and providing them to prisoners in return for bribes. Perez would receive prohibited items from the prisoners’ friends and relatives outside the facility, secretly transport the items into the prison, hide them in various locations, and notify the prisoners where to find them.

During the two years that Perez engaged in the bribery scheme, he received tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from prisoners or others paying on their behalf. In one instance, on May 3, 2023, Perez received an electronic transfer of $300 as a bribe to smuggle prohibited items such as cigarettes and electronic cigarettes into FCI Bastrop and provide them to one inmate.

Perez faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

The FBI and Department of Justice Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Buie is prosecuting the case.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty.