Inmate Sentenced to Additional 57 Months of Incarceration for Racketeering Activity at Cambria County Prison

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A former inmate at the Cambria County Prison was sentenced in federal court to an additional 57 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conducting and participating in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendant is among 10 individuals charged through an Indictment unsealed in July 2025 with racketeering charges related to the Cambria County Prison (read the Indictment news release here).

United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines imposed the sentence on Blake Young, 37, on June 5, 2026. Judge Haines ordered the sentence to be served consecutively to the 92-month prison sentence imposed on Young in May 2024 on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of heroin, cocaine base, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

According to information presented to the Court, from in and around July 2023 to in and around December 2023, while incarcerated at the Cambria County Prison, Young conducted and participated in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity. Specifically, Young bribed correctional officers and medical staff to smuggle contraband into the prison, namely cell phones, K2, and Suboxone, which were then sold to other inmates for a substantial profit.

To date, four of the 10 defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, with two now having been sentenced.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Safe Streets Task Force, the Cambria County District Attorney's Office, and the Cambria County Prison for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Young.