Prison gang leader convicted of federal drug and money laundering offenses following ICE HSI-led investigation

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Following a six-day trial in federal court, a jury convicted Charles Elsea, Jr, 44, a longtime inmate of the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and money laundering.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led this five-year investigation working with multiple local and federal agencies across the country.

The investigation, which began in spring 2017, determined that Elsea was the leader of a drug conspiracy. Trial evidence showed Elsea was the leader of a prison gang and ran an entire drug organization behind prison walls, using smuggled cellphones to conduct his business outside the presence of the guards.

Elsea conspired with gang members and others to distribute hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine across Tennessee. From his prison cell, he arranged multiple purchases of pounds of methamphetamine and directed coconspirators to transport the methamphetamine from California and Arizona to Tennessee. He and his coconspirators used the proceeds from the methamphetamine to create marijuana grow houses in and out of Tennessee. He even started two marijuana grow operations during the pendency of this case, utilizing the jail’s video system to speak to coconspirators about the cultivation of marijuana.

Sentencing is set for August 8. Elsea faces a maximum life sentence in prison, a 10-year minimum mandatory for count one of the indictment and supervised release for five years.

In addition to HSI, other agencies assisting in this investigation included: the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Postal Service; TDOC Office of Investigations and Conduct; Elizabethton and Carter County Joint Drug Task Force; Huron Undercover Narcotic Team with the Michigan State Police; Arkansas Highway Patrol; Missouri Western Interdiction Task Force with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department; and California Visalia Police Department.

This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about HSI Nashville’s activities @HSI_Nashville.