Securus Contract Scam Alert: The Leslie K Holte Incident 

By Jason Renard Walker 

The information below contains, what seems to be, a very sophisticated and well thought out comment that was posted on my personal website: www.jasonsprisonjournal.com by a person authoring as, Leslie K Holte. After checking, this name belongs to a person that served time in TDCJ for nearly beating an infant to death. 

Given that the post was a complete hoax tells me the person who posted it may not be Holte. I didn’t become aware of this comment until over six months after it was posted.
After attempting to verify the allegations that were made in their diatribe, I discovered that the contract name and number cited in the comment post, actually belonged to a Century Link contract that had absolutely nothing to do with Securus Technologies like they stated in detail. 

It is now clear that the writer is more than likely, one of the many TDCJ guard trolls that are obsessed with hanging out on my website for the sole purpose of posting very flagrant and vulgar comments. This comment seems to be designed to encourage me to act upon it, loosely circulate the content to others who might do the same. And ultimately attack my credibility, which is what this or these individuals have been seeking to do for nearly two decades. 

Remember Rebecca Potticary? 

What they keep failing to realize is that any document or fact they can stumble upon, I can verify if it’s bogus or not. But in the alternative, the post may be legit but the writer included the wrong contract number. In any event I’ve provided it below so you can read it for yourself, verify the content and see what lengths individuals like this put themselves through to heckle an incarcerated person and those interested in what he writes…

This information was submitted by Leslie K. Holte Sr. as a comment to my earlier article about TDCJ mail. You can read the original article here: https://jasonsprisonjournal.com/?s=tdcj+mail

Says Holte:

The transition to “all digital” mail is all about the money. By the time the TDCJ announced the “rollout”, Collier had already cut a sweetheart, quid pro quo, deal with Securus. I created a timeline that I will copy/paste below. My timeline lays out the entire sham.
Timeline

May 24, 2021; FCC set the ICS (incarcerated calling services) rate cap “Up to $0.14 minute.” This resulted in a great loss of revenue for Securus and the TDCJ, so Securus, along with the TDCJ, adapted, improvised, and overcame by developing a new revenue stream.

August 19, 2021 Collier signs Securus Contract 696-IT-21-23-C087

Terms of Contract (Pg. 10) is from:
August 19, 2021 – August 31, 2023 w/ option to extend for two (2), one (1) year periods (September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 and September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025. The Contractor (Securus) provided line itemed details of all services (Contract Pg 11 that is illegible)

e-Messaging Cost and Commission Amount (Contract Pg. 12)

Inbound e-Message from family or friend to eligible inmate
* Up to 20,000 character e-Message
* $0.22 per e-Message

Outbound eMessage from eligible inmate to family of friend (Obvious typo, should say family or friend)

*Attachment for Photo, e-Card, or Snap n’ Send is $0.22 each

*Annual fixed commission to TDCJ (Mirrors past 12 months commission volume for e-Mail only)

* $1,285,000 annually or $107.083 per month

September 7, 2023 Collier goes on You Tube and announces what he calls a “Contraband Lockdown.” Collier says: “At the same time we do that, we will go active with a complete electronic Mail system, meaning that all incoming regular mail to an inmate will go to one address, which will be posted on our website. At that address, they will scan and image that material and have that material sent to the inmate on the inmate tablet. If the inmate does not have a tablet, that letter will be printed in our mail rooms and handed to the inmate at the facility. The reason for this is because we have seen a significant increase in drugs that are brought into our facilities through paper in the mail.”

At no time during his presentation of September 7, 2023, does Collier ever mention that he has already signed a quid pro quo contract with Securus on August 19, 2021, or that the TDCJ reaps a $1.2 million “commission” on e-Messaging alone.

Since the Securus contract is up for renewal, it is imperative for Collier to gain public support by promoting the tablets, because the contract guarantees Securus access to an “average” of “one hundred twenty thousand (120,000) inmates” spread out over “one hundred three (103) locations.”

Another interesting fact that Collier conveniently fails to mention, is that the “one address” he refers to, is owned by Securus. I view this as smooth talking grooming and deliberate deceit towards the public.

At some point between September 7, 2023 and October 10, 2023, Collier is awarded a $12,656.90 annual pay increase. Evidently, swindling pays well.

Collier “serves at the pleasure” of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ), who also set his salary. Members of the TBCJ are appointed by the governor. Board members receive a median salary of $94,000.00 annually. ALL contracts over One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) require Board approval, which means the Securus contract had to be approved by the Board before Collier signed it. SO, the Board knew, Collier knew, the lawyers knew, and the Comptroller knew, and they ALL kept it a big, dark, secret. I myself only learned of it in September of 2023 when Collier announced the “rollout.” Shortly after the so called “roll out”, Collier was given the salary increase referred to above.

From the date the original Securus contract was signed by Collier, to the current day, inmates, their friends, and loved ones, have been charged a minimum of $0.47 per e-message, and $0.47 per attachment: an overcharge of $0.25 per e-Message and attachment, retroactive to August 19, 2021. Since all these accumulated charges were done electronically, what we have here is a blatant case of wire fraud.

The price of a postage stamp is set by the U.S. Postal Service, and even Collier can’t change it, so it was much more profitable for Collier to devise a plausible sounding narrative to go “all digital.”

On 19 September 2023, TIMSA announced that Securus would be “rolling out” a $25.00 credit “to all eligible inmates”, with the added caveat that the rebate can only be applied to Securus media services.

Inmates at the TDCJ have no viable source of income. The funding for Securus “services” comes from their families and loved ones, who were NOT offered a rebate. As a matter of fact they weren’t even offered the courtesy of a nice reach-around.

The fact that Collier, AND his cronies, kept the lucrative Securus contract a secret for TWO YEARS speaks for itself. Inmates have no access to public records, and it is unlikely the public would want to see the details of a contract they know nothing about. There is one MAJOR problem with all this chicanery though: Whether the inmates, their loved ones, or the taxpayers, knew about the contract or not, the FACT is there was and is a contract, and under the terms of that contract we have all been overcharged for e-Messaging services, retroactive to 19 August 2021.

Offer of proof: Contract Pg. 33 of 69.

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE
F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The term of this contract is from Date of Award through August 31 , 2023 with an option to extend
for two (2), one (1) year periods (September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 and September 1,
2024 through August 31, 2025). *The Date of Award was 19 August 2021, but no one knew that because Bryan and his cronies kept it on the down low.

Contract Performance Measure

C.3.4.2 Inmate Training (Never Happened)

The Contractor shall conduct Inmate training on how to use the tablets. The Contractor may utilize
a video presentation that can be shown to a controlled group of Inmates or those unable to read or
comprehend written literature Printed materials shall be available in both English and Spanish.
Bilingual training shall be available when required All training materials must be preapproved by
the Department before distribution.

11. Digital Mail Center – Physical mail scanning staffed by Securus and viewing in Securus Mail
Application – TDCJ no longer needs to handle physical mail other than legal mail;

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SECURUS CONTRACT: https://www.prisonphonejustice.org/2018/TX/texas-dcj-centurylink-contract-2018-2025/

Jason Walker-1532092 Powledge Unit PO Box 660400 Dallas TX 75266-0400