A Mississippi man is facing two decades in prison for numerous crimes relating to his leadership role in the Simon City Royals gang.
Court documents reveal that from 2016 until 2022, Hazlehurst native Allen Posey, 49, oversaw all of the criminal activities of the Simon City Royals, a violent national prison gang operating primarily in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, but with members and associates acting on their behalf outside of prisons throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and elsewhere.
Through an alliance with the violent Gangster Disciples gang, the Simon City Royals engaged in a host of criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, witness tampering, money laundering, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, large-scale drug trafficking, and fraud. Court records reflect that Posey personally ordered the murders of rival gang leaders and was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.
The Simon City Royals engaged in widespread drug trafficking, including smuggling large quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana and synthetic marijuana, heroin, and benzodiazepines into dozens of Mississippi state prison facilities. The gang distributed these dangerous substances, including nearly 100 percent pure crystal methamphetamine, to inmates throughout the prison system.
Throughout the conspiracy, Posey and other gang members and associates carried out financial transactions in furtherance of the gang’s activities; these included the collection of dues, the pooling of criminal proceeds, and the clandestine distribution of funds to incarcerated members, as well as a system of “investment” loans whereby members could borrow money for revenue-generating purposes such as purchasing a supply of narcotics.
The Simon City Royals engaged in a money laundering and fraud operation where members committed their activities using contraband cellular telephones and encrypted applications like Telegram and Protonmail.
Posey in October pled guilty to count one of an indictment that charged him with racketeering conspiracy. 36 other Simon City Royals gang members also pled guilty to various crimes last fall. Posey will spend 20 years in prison and serve five years of supervised release following his time behind bars.
“Our neighborhoods deserve to exist without fear and intimidation inflicted by violent gangs like the Simon City Royals,” ATF New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson said. “The sentence imposed today is another example of our commitment to seek the maximum prosecution for criminals who have posed such grave danger to our neighborhoods.”
This case has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, FBI Jackson Field Office, Mississippi Department of Corrections, and dozens of local law enforcement agencies across multiple states.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stringfellow prosecuted the case from the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Ben Tonkin of the DOJ’s vilent crime and racketeering section.
