Attorney General Alan Wilson announces two correctional officers indicted on charges of public corruption and contraband smuggling at the Lee Correctional Institution

(COLUMBIA, SC) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that the South Carolina State Grand Jury has issued an additional indictment of two South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) sworn officers for their alleged illicit relationships with inmates and participation in lucrative conspiracies to smuggle large amounts of contraband into the Lee prison. These indictments followed a multi-jurisdictional investigation, with cooperation among a number of law enforcement agencies in the area. These indictments arose from a State Grand Jury investigation known as “Clean Sweep”.

The State Grand Jury returned one indictment alleging official misconduct relating to unlawful relationships between correctional officers and inmates, the extent of which involves one correctional officer allegedly “marrying” an inmate in secret, who was under her supervision, and who she was responsible for securing and guarding. The allegations against these correctional officers include the corruption of their office and aiding and abetting in the smuggling of dangerous contraband to inmates at the Lee facility. 

“The State Grand Jury at the Attorney General’s Office continues to work closely with SLED and SCDC to fight allegations of corruption in the prison system,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said.  “I want to thank the hard work of the State Grand Jury staff and their law enforcement partners in continuing to root out corruption in our state agencies,” he added.

SCDC Director Joel Anderson said the agency has high standards for its employees and works hard to keep inmates, staff, and the public safe.

“These former officers violated the trust SCDC puts in its officers,” Anderson said. “Their behavior is not characteristic of our agency or the people who work in our department.”

The investigation has thus far returned six indictments covering 14 defendants. The most recent charges are listed below against the named individuals:

• Niccole Matthews Al-Saddiq (a/k/a “Shavon White”; “Nadia ‘Niccole’ Zahira Matthews”)
  1. 2026-GS-47-16 (Lee County)
     1. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years

• Candace Elizabeth Smith (a/k/a “Elizabeth”)
  1. 2026-GS-47-16 (Lee County)
     1. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years

Bond will be set for defendants Al-Saddiq and Smith once they are apprehended.

The case was investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, which was assisted in this case by a partnership of the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Division, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General David Fernandez, Special Assistant Attorney General Margaret Boykin Scott, and State Grand Jury Division Chief Creighton Waters. 

Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.