The Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland (FCI Cumberland) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Maryland. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.[1]
FCI Cumberland also has a license plate manufacturing center, where inmates produce license plates used on federal government vehicles.
Notable incidents
On July 21, 2010, inmate and former NYPD CommissionerBernard Kerik used the social website Twitter to post his opposition to the opening of the Park51 Islamic Community Center near Ground Zero. The post read, "If we let them defile ground zero with a beachhead for sharia we will validate their sense of victory on 9/11 and encourage future attacks on America. No mosque at Ground Zero" and included a link to a Web video showing the Twin Towers falling. A Federal Bureau of Prisons official told Salon, "Inmates don't have Internet access. He probably has a family member doing it for him." The official also said Kerik may have access to something called TRULINCS, a prison e-mail system that allows inmates to exchange e-mails with people (typically family members or friends) on an approved list.[3]
Former US Army doctor; convicted in 1979 of the 1970 murders of his wife and two children in their home at Fort Bragg Army Base in North Carolina; the case was the subject of author Joe McGinniss's book and NBC's miniseries Fatal Vision.[5]
Serving a 37-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2034.[6] Currently at FCI Gilmer.
Sovereign citizen movement member; convicted in 2009 of conspiracy for stockpiling bombs and firearms during an 8-month standoff with authorities attempting to apprehend him and his wife, Elaine Brown, for a 2007 tax evasion conviction.[7][8][9]
Javaid Perwaiz
26867-083
Serving a 59-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2069.
Former OBGYN in Virginia who performed unnecessary surgeries, including hysterectomies and sterilizations, on women.[10]
Serving a 10-year sentence; scheduled for release on November 6, 2026. Currently at FCI Jesup.
Restaurant owner who forced mentally disabled employee to work at his restaurant. The case was high-profile over allegations that the crime was racially motivated (Edwards is white and the victim was black).[12]
Gordon Ernst
64601-037
Serving a 30-month sentence; scheduled for release in 2024.
Former Georgetown University men and womens tennis coach, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, three counts of federal programs bribery and filing false tax returns for failing to report many of the bribery payments as part of the Varsity Blues scandal.[13]
Convicted of Seditious Conspiracy, Obstructing an Official Proceeding, and other crimes surrounding the Protest at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Convicted of conspiring to make unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission and conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and was sentenced on May 28, 2024.[16]
Yonkers, NY psychiatrist and former Yale and Columbia University Professor and renowned schizophrenia researcher, who pled guilty to distributing 100,000 doses of a highly potent and addictive opioid without a legitimate medical purpose while acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Laruelle charged patients as much as $800 per prescription, with the understanding that the drugs would be resold on the black market.[18]
Released from custody in 2013; served 3 years.[19]
Former NYPD Commissioner and Homeland Security Secretary nominee under President George W. Bush; pleaded guilty in 2009 to tax evasion for accepting services from a company in return for his assistance in obtaining a city construction permit.[20]
On July 28, 2009, Douglas was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration for possession of 0.5 pounds (0.23 kg) of methamphetamine. Due to the large amount of the drug seized, Douglas was charged with intent to distribute. The charge carries a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life.
Released from custody in 2015; served 29 months.[24]
Former real estate investor and key informant for Operation Bid Rig, one of the largest corruption stings in US history resulting in the convictions of dozens of public officials in New Jersey; arrested in 2006 for masterminding a $50 million bank fraud.[25][26]
Leader of the Virginia jihad network; convicted in 2004 of seditious conspiracy and other charges for attending a terrorist training camp run by the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba and purchasing weapons in preparation to undertake violent jihad; several co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[29][30] Released in 2018 after judge Leonie Brinkema determined that the sentences of the men involved in the plot were "draconian" and vacated their sentences. As of 2020, all members of the network have been released from prison.
