Former Congressional Employee Indicted for Allegedly Stealing 240 Cell Phones

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

A former congressional employee has been arrested and indicted for allegedly stealing 240 cell phones.

Christopher Southerland, 43, was apprehended and charged on Jan. 9 for allegedly stealing the government cell phones, worth more than $150,000, from the House of Representatives, according to a Department of Justice news release.

From around April 2020 to July 2023, Southerland was a system administrator for the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, according to the Justice Department. In his position, he was allowed to order cell phones for committee staff members.

The department said that between January 2023 and May 2023, Southerland used his position to order 240 cell phones to his home in Maryland. There were around 80 committee staff members during that period. Southerland sold more than 200 of the cell phones to a pawn shop nearby.

He directed a pawn shop employee to sell the phones “in parts” to get around the House’s mobile device management software, which allows the House to monitor and secure its phones remotely, according to the Justice Department.

The department said that Southerland’s activities were first detected when one of the phones allegedly stolen by him was sold whole on eBay to an uninvolved customer. The phone included a number for the House of Representatives Technology Service Desk, which the purchaser called. House employees soon realized that several phones bought by Southerland were not accounted for.

The case is being probed by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jake Green. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sabena Auyeung and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Courtney assisted the investigation.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Southerland for comment.

The incident involving Southerland is one of a few involving congressional staffers the past few years.

In December 2024, Michael Hopkins, communications director for Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), was arrested for entering a congressional office building with ammunition. Hopkins is no longer with the office.

In March 2025, Hayden Haynes, chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), was arrested for driving under the influence following President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress. Haynes is still employed by Johnson.

In November 2025, Edward York, a constituent outreach coordinator for Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), was fired after allegedly posing as an immigration attorney to get an illegal immigrant released from custody.

That same month, Natalie Greene, a staffer for Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), was charged with conspiracy to convey false information and hoaxes and giving false statements to law enforcement in a case where she allegedly staged an anti-Trump attack. She is no longer with Van Drew’s office.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s current party affiliation. The Epoch Times regrets the error.