WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former congressional employee, Christopher Southerland, 43, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, has been arrested and federally indicted for allegedly stealing hundreds of government-issued cell phones from the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Southerland, who worked as a system administrator for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from April 2020 through July 2023, is accused of taking roughly 240 government phones valued at over $150,000.
Prosecutors allege that between January and May 2023, Southerland misused his authority to order phones for committee staff, directing shipments to his home even though the committee had only about 80 employees at the time. Investigators claim he sold more than 200 of the devices to a nearby pawn shop and instructed staff to sell the phones “in parts” to avoid detection by the House’s mobile device management system.
The scheme came to light when a phone sold intact on eBay alerted the buyer with a contact number for the House Technology Service Desk. House officials then discovered multiple phones were missing.
The case is under investigation by the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Authorities emphasized that an indictment is an allegation, and Southerland is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
