Former congressional staffer arrested for stealing 240 government cellphones: Pirro

A former congressional staffer was arrested for stealing about 240 government cellphones, according to U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro.

Christopher Southerland, 43, of Glen Burnie, Md., was arrested Friday, the Department of Justice announced Monday. He was an administrator from April 2020 to July 2023 for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a role in which he was authorized to order cell phones for committee staff members.

Southerland allegedly ordered the new government cellphones – total value roughly $150,000 – to his home from January 2023 through May 2023. At that time, there were about 80 staffers working on the committee.

He allegedly sold over 200 of the phones to a nearby pawn shop and directed an employee to sell them in parts, in order to bypass the House’s mobile device management software, which enables the phones to be remotely secured and monitored.

One person bought one of the phones on eBay, which was sold whole, and when they turned on the phone, the House Technology Service Desk phone number was displayed. The person called the number, which led House employees to discover that several phones Southerland allegedly purchased were missing.

According to an unsealed indictment dated Dec. 4, Southerland allegedly “willfully and knowingly embezzled, stole, and converted to his own use cellular telephones,” The Hill news outlet reported. DOJ prosecutors added that they will seek monetary restitution if Southerland is convicted.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee didn't respond to The Hill news outlet's request for comment.