Denver, Colorado - A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee pleaded guilty Wednesday to making false statements, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Tammy Karasawa, 44, of Pueblo West, Colorado, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements before U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello of the District of Colorado. Sentencing is scheduled for August 5, 2019.
Karasawa was employed at the BOP U.S. Penitentiary Florence ADX facility as a cook foreman. According to admissions made in connection with her plea, beginning in approximately the summer of 2017, Karasawa began a physical relationship with an inmate under her supervision. On Aug. 18, 2017, while Karasawa and the inmate were engaging in a physical encounter, one of Karasawa’s coworkers saw the pair, confronted them, and reported the incident to his superiors. The same day, Karasawa was interviewed by agents from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General regarding this conduct. Karasawa admitted that she made multiple false statements during the course of this interview including denying having any type of physical relationship with the inmate.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated this case. Trial Attorney Nicole Lockhart of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.