Western District of Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Casey Michael Taylor, 35, of Arcadia, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote for illegal possession of firearms.

Taylor was sentenced to 68 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. According to information presented to the court, on February 2, 2021, deputies with the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office lawfully stopped Taylor’s pickup truck in response to a be-on-the-lookout or “BOLO” alert. Deputies placed Taylor into custody and found inside his truck several loaded handguns, ammunition, methamphetamine, and smoking paraphernalia. Investigators later searched and seized multiple firearms from Taylor’s gun safe pursuant to a search warrant. Taylor later admitted that he was addicted to and a daily user of methamphetamine making him prohibited from possessing firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Shannon. This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Derrick Felton, 43, of Alexandria, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Jay Zainey to 188 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges.

Felton was charged in an indictment on July 13, 2018 following an investigation by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into suspicious packages that were detected by a postal employee delivering mail in November 2017. The packages had been shipped from Los Angeles, California to an address in the Western District of Louisiana and one of the packages had a torn bottom. Upon inspection, the postal employee discovered what appeared to be bags of methamphetamine inside the package. Law enforcement agents with the FBI were contacted and a drug dog alerted on each of the three packages. A search warrant was then obtained for the packages.

During execution of the search warrant, agents found inside each package a combined 18 pounds of methamphetamine. Inside the boxes, the methamphetamine was surrounded by cooking pans. Agents analyzed the cooking pans and found Felton’s fingerprints on two of the pans. Felton pleaded guilty on August 24, 2021 and acknowledged that he facilitated the delivery of the 18 pounds of methamphetamine to the Western District of Louisiana. A laboratory analysis of the substance inside the boxes was determined to contain approximately 8 kilograms of a mixture or substance methamphetamine.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John W. Nickel and Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced today by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Demetrius D. Loston, 39, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was sentenced to 360 months (30 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Loston pleaded guilty August 19, 2021 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

In July 2020, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began an investigation into drug trafficking activities in the Cedar Grove area after receiving information that Loston was distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in the Shreveport area. This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation was named “Operation Lost and Found” and resulted in federal indictments against nine defendants for conspiring together to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During their investigation, agents were able to intercept multiple phone calls between Loston and other co-defendants, wherein they communicated about buying and selling large amounts of methamphetamine for profit. Loston has prior felony convictions for possession with intent to distribute Schedule II controlled substances in 2000, possession of a Schedule II controlled substances in 2005, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2014, and possession with intent to distribute Schedule II controlled substances in 2018.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, ATF, and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford. This effort is part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Juan Francisco Salas, 45, of Houston, Texas, has been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. on drug trafficking charges.

Salas was sentenced to 76 months (6 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On December 5, 2019, a trooper with the Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Salas. After a period of questioning, the trooper searched Salas’ vehicle and discovered approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine inside a box in the rear cargo area. Salas admitted that he knew the illegal narcotics were in the trunk. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Laboratory tested the seized methamphetamine and confirmed that the amount seized totaled 9,205 grams.

This case was investigated by the DEA and Louisiana State Police and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon H. Whitten.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Christopher D. Smith, 25, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 71 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment on January 27, 2021 charging Smith with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of stolen firearm. He pleaded guilty on August 16, 2021 to illegal possession of the firearm. On August 19, 2019, while on parole for state criminal charges and under the supervision of the Louisiana State Probation and Parole, Smith was found to have a loaded firearm in his possession. State parole officers conducted a standard and lawful search of Smith’s residence and located a firearm with a blue bandana wrapped around the magazine in a bedroom of Smith’s residence. The firearm was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition and was in Smith’s bedroom where men’s clothing and mail addressed to him was found. In addition, Smith’s DNA was found on the bandana and the firearm. The firearm was determined to have been reported as stolen back in 2019.

Smith has prior felony convictions for attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2017 and simple robbery in 2016 and knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

The case was investigated by the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Helen Godfrey-Smith, 72, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to making and using a false document.

Godfrey-Smith was employed by the Shreveport Federal Credit Union (SFCU) from 1983 to 2017 and during much of that time was employed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SFCU. The SFCU was a Shreveport, Louisiana based financial institution under the regulation of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

In October 2016, the SFCU, through Godfrey-Smith, entered into an agreement with the United States Department of the Treasury to buy back certain securities that were part of the Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). As part of that process, on December 27, 2016, Godfrey-Smith signed and submitted to the United States Department of the Treasury an Officer’s Certificate which certified that all conditions precedent to the closing had been satisfied.

In reality, SFCU had not met all conditions precedent to closing and had suffered a material adverse effect. Unbeknownst to the United States Department of the Treasury and the NCUA, SFCU was in a financial crisis. From 2015 through 2017, another individual who was the Chief Financial Officer of SFCU (Individual 1), had been falsifying call reports to the NCUA which included millions of dollars in fictitious fee income. In addition, she was creating fictitious entries in the banks records to support the false call reports. This created the illusion that SFCU was profitable when, in fact, the bank was failing. In addition, Individual 1, embezzled approximately $1.5 million from the credit union.

By the time Godfrey-Smith signed the Officer's Statement, she had become aware of deficiencies at the credit union. Specifically, she had recently investigated and discovered that there were millions of dollars of fictitious entries on SFCU's general ledger, and the credit union's books were not balanced. However, she failed to disclose this information to the United States Department of the Treasury and signed the false Officer’s Statement.

In the Spring of 2017, the institution failed. It was taken over by regulators from the NCUA and placed into a conservatorship. An investigation by the NCUA revealed that SFCU had amassed in excess of $10 million in losses by December 2016.

Godfrey-Smith faces a sentence of up to 5 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentencing is set for April 5, 2022.

The FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Department of Treasury–Office of Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – Brandon Bonaparte Brown was officially sworn in today as United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. Brown was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on November 15, 2021 and was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 7, 2021. U.S. Attorney Brown was sworn in at the federal courthouse in Lafayette.

“It is an honor to have been nominated and endorsed by the President and Senators Cassidy and Kennedy to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana,” stated U.S. Attorney Brown. “I am excited to serve alongside a team of exceptional public servants at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and with the dedicated law enforcement professionals throughout this district. This office will continue to partner with law enforcement and community partners to pursue equal justice under the law.”

With over 14 years of public service, U.S. Attorney Brown will lead an office of approximately 70 federal prosecutors and staff, located in Shreveport and Lafayette. The Western District of Louisiana covers the western part of Louisiana, with offices in Shreveport, Lafayette, Alexandria, Monroe, and Lake Charles.

U.S. Attorney Brown joined the Shreveport Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in November 2012. He worked in the general crimes area and prosecuted a wide range of criminal offenses and has tried multiple cases to jury verdict. Most notably, U.S. Attorney Brown was trial counsel in United States v. Thomas Sanders, a multi-victim homicide case spanning multiple states, which culminated in the first death penalty verdict in the history of the Western District of Louisiana. In March 2017, Brown was appointed as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator for the district, charged with coordinating two task forces comprised of federal and state law enforcement agencies with the goal of investigating and prosecuting firearm and high-end violent crime organizations in the district.  He left the office in March 2018 to accept a position in private practice and then rejoined the Shreveport Criminal Division in October 2018 as the Shreveport Division Lead Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) attorney and the district’s Violent Crime Coordinator.

From 2007 to 2012, U.S. Attorney Brown served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office in Monroe, Louisiana. While serving in the felony division, he prosecuted a wide range of offenses including sex crimes, homicides, robberies, narcotics, and public corruption, while also handling any appeals related to his cases. Most notably, he was trial counsel in State of Louisiana v. Edward L. Harris, a public corruption case in which the mayor of a municipality made improper payments to himself and town employees during his last days in office after losing reelection. He was also trial counsel in State of Louisiana v. Matt Banks, a “cold case,” revived after seven years, resulting in two life imprisonment sentences. 

U.S. Attorney Brown grew up in Richwood, Louisiana, and graduated from Ouachita Parish High School. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University holding a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems (2002) and a Master of Business Administration (2004). Brown received his law degree from the Southern University Law Center in 2007, where he was the 1L class president, led the student recruitment committee, represented indigent defendants in the criminal clinical program, and served on the Moot Court Board. U.S. Attorney Brown is involved in activities in his community and is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Mount Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two co-conspirators, Roderick Lamont Stills, a.k.a. “Scooter,” 45, of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Myron Keith Carter, a.k.a. “Cali Red,” 38, of Ontario, California, have been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy.  Stills was sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and Carter was sentenced to 78 months (6 years, 2 months) in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The charges in this case stem from an investigation conducted by agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into shipments of methamphetamine that were being sent to individuals in the Shreveport area from Southern California. On July 31, 2019, DEA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents learned about the arrival of packages from California into the Western District of Louisiana. The next day, agents observed a postal carrier deliver one of the packages to an address on Line Avenue in Shreveport. Agents observed Stills obtain the package and move it to his vehicle. Stills was detained by agents and when they retrieved the package from his vehicle, found heat-sealed packages containing approximately 1,647 gross grams of methamphetamine. Stills admitted that the package was his and further admitted that he had received at least two dozen packages of methamphetamine to the Shreveport area. He further admitted that he would have individuals pick up the packages from him on occasion and that he would also distribute the drugs to others to sell.

During their investigation, law enforcement agents learned that Carter would mail methamphetamine to an address in Shreveport, then fly to Dallas, rent a car, drive to Shreveport, and retrieve the package. He would then arrange meetings with individuals in Shreveport to sell the methamphetamine in large quantities for them to sell. On September 18, 2019, Carter arranged such a meeting and sold methamphetamine for $3,700 to an individual. The methamphetamine was later tested at the DEA crime lab and determined to be methamphetamine and weighed 375.4 grams.

The case was investigated by DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men have been sentenced by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. to time in federal prison for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Both defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in Lafayette on January 13, 2021 for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Kevin Joseph Lejeune, 31, of Westlake, Louisiana was sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Lejeune pleaded guilty on June 3, 2021. The charge stemmed from an incident in which deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance complaint at a residence in Lake Charles on July 9, 2020. Upon arrival at the residence, the deputies interviewed witnesses at the scene and learned that Lejeune had possessed and discharged a firearm that evening. The residence was equipped with a video surveillance system, and the system’s recording device was located within a locked safe. Search warrants were executed on the residence and Lejeune’s vehicle. Deputies found a loaded pistol in Lejeune’s vehicle and recovered the surveillance video from the safe. Upon reviewing the surveillance video, deputies observed video footage of Lejeune possessing and firing the pistol.  Also, Lejeune admitted to law enforcement that he had possessed and discharged a pistol that evening. As a person having been previously convicted of felony offenses, Lejeune knew that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. His previous felony convictions included those for aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the ATF and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker.

Rickey A. Edmonds, 48, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. On February 10, 2020, Lake Charles Police Department officers responded to a residence in connection with a reported disturbance complaint. Officers found Edmonds on the porch with a firearm near him. He acknowledged to officers that the firearm belonged to him. In addition, Edmonds had a number of rounds of ammunition in his pants pocket. Edmonds has prior felony convictions for illegal carrying of a weapon (second offense) (2016), and for unauthorized use of a vehicle (2016). Edmonds knew that as a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

This case was investigated by the ATF and Lake Charles Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy.

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Yvette L. Fontenot, 54, of Carencro, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays to 14 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for using or trafficking in an unauthorized access device. Fontenot was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $149,461.48.

Fontenot pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2021. Fontenot was employed as an Office Manager at Periodontics Associates in Lafayette, Louisiana. In that position, Fontenot was authorized to use certain credit cards for business expenses, as well as certain business accounts to pay the balances of those credit cards and other business expenses.

According to evidence presented to the court, from November 2008 until August 2016, Fontenot used several of the business credit cards issued to Periodontics Associates for personal expenses for herself and her family. Fontenot knew that these credit cards were obtained and authorized for business use only and she knew that other business accounts would be used to pay the balances of the credit card accounts. In fact, business funds were used to pay these credit card balances and personal expenses of Fontenot through business checks prepared by Fontenot herself. She did this with the intent to defraud the company for personal gain, to which she was not entitled. The amount of loss suffered by the company as identified in the criminal proceedings was $149,461.48.

The United States Secret Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie prosecuted the case.

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MONROE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from North Louisiana were sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty.

Aaron Farrar, 24, of Sterlington, Louisiana was sentenced to 126 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine. Farrar pleaded guilty to the charge on August 18, 2021. The charge stems from an investigation which began when U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents intercepted a suspicious package that was in route to Farrar’s residence address in Sterlington. Agents obtained a search warrant for the package and found approximately 216 grams of methamphetamine concealed in a clock radio. Law enforcement officers placed a small amount of the methamphetamine back into the package and delivered the package to Farrar at the address. Agents were notified when the package was opened, and they executed a search warrant on the residence. During the execution of the search warrant, agents found the delivered package containing methamphetamine, as well as a loaded handgun with extended magazine.  Farrar told law enforcement that the package was being delivered to his residence for someone else and that he was supposed to get paid for getting the package to that individual.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

Michael James Carroll, 27, of Tallulah, Louisiana was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for theft of firearm from a licensed dealer. On or about June 30, 2020, Carroll walked inside Tallulah Gun Sales, a federal firearms licensee in Madison Parish, Louisiana, and removed a Glock pistol from the glass display case without permission. Carroll placed the firearm in his waistband then left the store. Later that day during a traffic stop, law enforcement officers recovered the stolen Glock pistol from Carroll’s vehicle. 

The ATF and Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon H. Whitten prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Adam Richard Henderson, 35, of Bossier City, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 60 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, on child pornography charges.

In September and October 2020, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations received cypertip reports from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that a Yahoo user was in possession of numerous images of child pornography. Law enforcement agents began an investigation and discovered that the email accounts belonged to Henderson. He was charged and pleaded guilty on July 16, 2021 to transportation of child pornography.

At the guilty plea hearing, Henderson admitted that on March 14, 2020, while living in Bossier City, Louisiana, he emailed images of child pornography from two Yahoo email accounts belonging to him. The images were of prepubescent minors whose genital and pubic areas were lasciviously exhibited. Henderson admitted to sending the images at his guilty plea hearing on July 16, 2021.

The U.S. Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Austin Hack, 24, of Lafayette, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Michael J. Juneau to 26 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on firearms charges.

Hack was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 18, 2020 and charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On April 6, 2021, Hack pleaded guilty to the charge. This case was initiated on January 25, 2019 when officers with the Lafayette Police Department arrested Hack on outstanding arrest warrants on unrelated matters. Before his arrest, Hack was seen driving a silver Mercedes Benz vehicle and had parked it at a residence on Sonny Street in Lafayette. Law enforcement officers surrounded the residence and demanded Hack to come out of the residence. He eventually complied and officers obtained a search warrant and conducted a search of the vehicle he had been driving. Inside the vehicle officers found a revolver loaded with 5 rounds of ammunition, as well as 20 additional rounds of ammunition. Hack admitted to law enforcement officers that the firearm was his and he had purchased it off the street.

As an individual having been previously convicted of a felony, Hack knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. His prior felony conviction is for illegal possession of a stolen firearm (2018).

The ATF and Lafayette Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Tracie Sonnier, 51, of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Michael J. Juneau to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges. Sonnier was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $335,015.67.

Sonnier pleaded guilty on July 19, 2021 to a Bill of Information charging her with one count of wire fraud. The charges stemmed from an investigation that began when her employer discovered money missing from their business account. Sonnier was employed by Aries Marine Corporation (Aries) from 1996 until her termination in May 2020.  She worked as an administrative assistant and had bookkeeping duties at Aries. An investigation by agents with the U.S. Secret Service and the Lafayette Police Department revealed that Sonnier created a scheme to defraud Aries using Aries’ bank accounts, without authorization, to pay for personal expenses. The investigation revealed that her scheme resulted in a loss to the company of $335,015.67.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Lafayette Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Rusty Ross Honore, 42, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Michael J. Juneau to 70 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release on drug trafficking charges. He was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $10,000.

Honore pleaded guilty on July 21, 2021 to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and at the guilty plea hearing admitted that he conspired with two other co-conspirators to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana in the Western District of Louisiana.

Law enforcement agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) had information to believe that Honore was distributing cocaine in the Lafayette area and in March 2020, began an investigation into his drug trafficking activities. Through the investigation of law enforcement agents, including the use of surveillance and other investigative techniques, agents found that Honore and his co-conspirators possessed and distributed approximately 207 pounds of marijuana and 2 kilograms of cocaine.

Honore has a previous federal felony conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana from 2006. He was released from prison in 2012 and his period of supervised release ended in 2014.

The DEA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office and Lafayette Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Dillon James Merritt, 54, of Many, Louisiana was sentenced today by United States District Judge Donald E. Walter to life imprisonment, plus 600 months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, on kidnapping, interstate domestic violence, and firearms charges. This sentence is the result of two separate cases in which Merritt was charged and convicted.

In the first case, Merritt was charged in December 2019 with two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Law enforcement officers with the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, learned that Merritt, who had several felony convictions, had firearms in his possession. On January 12, 2018, law enforcement officers arrested Merritt on a warrant based on his illegal possession of a firearm. Merritt went to trial in April 2021 and was convicted by a federal jury on both of those counts.

In the second case, Merritt was charged in September 2020 with one count of kidnapping, two counts of interstate domestic violence, and one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was convicted by a federal jury after a three-day trial in July of this year on all four counts. Evidence at the jury trial revealed that on December 12, 2017, Merritt kidnapped a woman in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and took her across state lines to Texas and held her against her will for four days. Merritt and the woman (victim) briefly dated in the fall of 2017, but after Merritt punched the victim in the stomach following an argument, she severed the relationship with Merritt. Following the breakup, he continually called the victim and harassed her.

During the evening hours of December 12, 2017, Merritt found the victim walking back home from visiting with a friend near the Walmart parking lot in Natchitoches and struck her in the head and put her in a truck and left. The victim was bound and gagged and hidden under clothing in the vehicle and for the next several days, was taken by Merritt to various locations in Louisiana and remote locations in Texas near Toledo Bend. Merritt repeatedly raped the victim, doused her with lighter fluid and tried to set her on fire, and severely beat her with his fists, elbows, feet and with a Maglite flashlight over this four-day period causing serious bodily injury to the victim. In addition to the brutal beatings, aggravated sexual assault, and sexual abuse on the victim committed by Merritt, he possessed with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Additional evidence was introduced at today’s sentencing hearing of Merritt’s past victims who have suffered at his hand, including three young children and four other women besides the victim in this kidnapping case. Those crimes are as follows:

• In 1999, Merritt was convicted of simple battery after beating his then nine-year-old son with a coat hanger.
• In 2000, Merritt was again convicted of simple battery after beating his former girlfriend.
• In 2001, Merritt tortured his then two-year-old stepdaughter by spraying hair spray in her eyes, twisting her leg and breaking her tibia, twisting her arm and dislocating her shoulder, and then refused to seek medical treatment for her. In September 2002, Merritt was convicted by a jury of cruelty to a juvenile for these crimes.
• In February 2005, Merritt was again convicted of cruelty to a juvenile as the result of an incident in June 2002, while Merritt was on pretrial release for the first cruelty to a juvenile charge, when he struck the head of a four-year-old boy and strangled him. He broke the front door to and attempted to enter the boy’s residence after his parents retreated inside, apparently hiding from Merritt and they called the police. Merritt was released on parole for the abuse of these two children in 2008.
• In less than a year after being released from the 2005 conviction, in June 2009, Merritt severely beat his new girlfriend by strangling, kicking, punching and beating her with a belt. The victim girlfriend sustained a collapsed lung, bruising to her thighs, arms, shin and posterior flank, as well as a hemorrhage with bruising around her eyes. Merritt was convicted of second-degree battery and sent back to prison, but released again in August 2012.
• In June 2013, Merritt savagely beat his new girlfriend, A.M., making her the sixth known victim who had suffered at the hands of Merritt. Testimony at today’s hearing from the victim’s sister showed that Merritt repeatedly beat, strangled, and raped the victim and eventually dumped her nearly lifeless body onto the front steps of his neighbor’s trailer. The neighbor called an ambulance, and they transported the victim to the hospital where she was resuscitated multiple times and she remained in intensive care for several weeks. She suffered from fractured ribs, bruising and swelling all over her face and body, and a head injury. The head injury brought on a series of strokes that caused permanent brain damage. Although this victim survived the brutal attacks by Merritt, she is in an assisted living facility because of the injuries he caused. The sister of the victim testified that her sister’s mental capacity and personality have never been the same since Merritt savagely beat her. Merritt was never prosecuted for this horrific crime by the Texas authorities.
• In August 2016, Merritt found a new girlfriend and she became his next victim. As was his practice, Merritt held the girlfriend captive over the course of several days while beating her body and face and strangled her until she almost passed out. The victim was able to escape and ran to a neighbor’s house for help. The responding police officer noted that the victim had bruises on her body, a very red eye, and complained of broken ribs. Merritt was convicted of domestic abuse battery and sentenced to a short stay in jail. Within a year and a half, in 2017, Merritt committed the instant offense, abducting and torturing his eighth and last victim.

“The severe brutality and sexual abuse which this defendant has inflicted upon others has finally ended and the life sentence he received ensures that he will never be a threat to society again,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “He preyed upon helpless children and women who were vulnerable and unknowing, and scarred each of them for the rest of their lives. We hope that this sentence can bring some form of healing to the eight victims – three children and five women – who suffered at the hands of such an evil and despicable person.”

The FBI, Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Sabine County Sheriff’s Office in Hemphill, Texas conducted the investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper prosecuted both cases.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – Glenn Lee Dobbs, Jr., 51, of DeBerry, Texas, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Donald E. Walter to 33 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. Dobbs was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $391,241.

Dobbs was indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and pleaded guilty to the charge on April 15, 2021. According to information presented to the court, Dobbs represented to two victims that he owned and operated a commercial roofing business. In March 2017, Dobbs falsely represented to one of these victims that his company had a contract with Roadrunner Rubber Company, a tire and wheel manufacturer in Houston, Texas, to roof its building. Dobbs asked the victim for money to pay the materials cost associated with the falsely represented contract and in exchange, they would split the profits. The victim believed that Dobbs did in fact have a contract with Roadrunner and paid him $212,348.

Further investigation by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that in April 2017, Dobbs solicited money from a second victim for another roofing job that did not exist. Dobbs falsely represented to the victim that he had a contract with the Tomball ISD in Tomball, Texas to roof a building. Dobbs asked the victim to pay the materials cost associated with the falsely represented contract and told the victim that in exchange, they would split the profits from the roofing job. The victim paid him $178,893. Neither of these victims were ever repaid the money that they provided to Dobbs.

Dobbs defrauded the victims in the Western District of Louisiana while already under federal indictment in the Eastern District of Texas for carrying out a similar scheme there.

The FBI was the investigative agency in this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon H. Whitten prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Ronnie G. Reddix, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 120 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on firearms charges.

Reddix was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm as the result of a high-speed pursuit that resulted in the discovery of his firearms. On or about December 12, 2020, an officer with the Shreveport Police Department observed Reddix and another individual rolling a marijuana cigar in a vehicle. The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the driver did not stop, prompting a high-speed pursuit by law enforcement officers which lasted approximately ten minutes. When the car finally stopped, Reddix and other occupants exited the vehicle and fled the area. Officers observed a firearm fall from Reddix’s lap onto the ground as he exited the vehicle. He was caught and arrested after a brief foot pursuit. Officers recovered a second firearm on the ground along the path taken by Reddix during the foot pursuit. He admitted to possessing the firearms, both which were loaded with ammunition.

Reddix has a long list of previous felony convictions and knew he was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition. His prior convictions are for simple burglary (2018); possession with intent to distribute narcotics and possession of narcotics (2017); two counts of simple burglary (2017); simple burglary (2014); illegal use of a weapon (2014); possession of a schedule IV narcotic (2014); domestic abuse battery (2011); and illegal use of a weapon from a motor vehicle (2009).

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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ALEXANDRIA, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that three defendants convicted of armed bank robbery have been sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell.

Larcentursa Mayweather a.k.a. “Cent” a.k.a “Lacenturia,” 50, of Winnfield, Louisiana, was sentenced to 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Paul Nash, Jr., 44, of Jonesboro, was sentenced to 124 months (10 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Tabitha Lee Gray, a.k.a. “Tabitha White,” 45, of Jonesboro, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Mayweather, Gray and Nash were also ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.

Mayweather was convicted by a jury in federal court in Alexandria on May 28, 2021. Nash and Gray each pleaded guilty and agreed to testify truthfully about their involvement in the robberies. During Larcentursa Mayweather’s trial, evidence revealed that he conspired with his two co-defendants, Paul Nash, Jr., and Tabitha Lee Gray a.k.a. “Tabitha White” to rob two banks in the Western District of Louisiana in April 2019.

During the trial, evidence was produced that Mayweather helped plan the bank robberies and instructed Nash and Gray on how to carry out the robberies and what to do and he acted as the getaway driver. On April 2, 2019, Mayweather drove Nash and Gray to Campti, Louisiana and dropped them off at the City Bank. There Nash and Gray entered the bank with firearms drawn and ordered tellers to give them money. After Nash and Gray left the bank with the stolen money, they fled in a stolen vehicle to meet Mayweather at a predetermined location and discarded the stolen vehicle. In an effort to divert the attention of law enforcement officers from the robbery, Mayweather provided Nash with a cell phone and instructed him to make a false report to law enforcement by conveying a bomb threat on the Lakeview High School property in Campti. The money stolen from the Campti bank was divided between the co-defendants.

The second armed robbery occurred on April 16, 2019 at the Bank of Montgomery in Castor, Louisiana. Again, Mayweather helped plan the robbery and instructed Nash and Gray on how to carry out the robbery. Instead of calling in a false report of a bomb threat, this time the co-defendants committed arson by setting a house on fire in another attempt to divert the attention of local law enforcement from the robbery. Mayweather dropped Nash and Gray at the bank and again they entered with firearms drawn pointing them at the tellers. After the money was stolen, Nash and Gray ran out of the bank intending to find Mayweather, who had promised he would be waiting to pick them up. Once they exited the bank, Mayweather saw law enforcement officers in the area and instead of picking them up, he accelerated and left Nash and Gray to fend for themselves. Nash and Gray ran into a nearby wooded area and were later apprehended. Mayweather was seen leaving the area of the Bank of Montgomery and was stopped and arrested by law enforcement officers. Gray’s purse and a receipt belonging to Nash were found in his vehicle.

Testimony at trial revealed that a glove belonging to Mayweather was found in the parking lot of the City Bank in Campti, Louisiana. After laboratory analysis, it was determined that Mayweather’s DNA was on the glove. Further, testimony at trial revealed that Mayweather provided the firearms and clothing including gloves, hoodies, and masks to Nash and Gray to complete the robberies.

The FBI, Louisiana State Police, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana State Fire Marshal conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tennille Gilreath and Robert F. Moody prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two defendants scheduled to begin trial Monday, November 8, 2021, each entered guilty pleas this evening before United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.

Lynn D. Cawthorne, 54, a Caddo Parish Commissioner and resident of Shreveport, along with his sister, Belena C. Turner, 50, also of Shreveport, each appeared in United States District Court this evening and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with their involvement in a scheme to defraud the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which administers the Child Nutrition Programs. Cawthorne also pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and assisting in making and subscribing a false tax return in connection with a separate indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury against him in December 2019.

According to information introduced at the hearing, the Child Nutrition Programs administered by the USDA include the Summer Feeding Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP was established to ensure that children in low-income areas continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session during the summer. In Louisiana, the SFSP is administered by the Louisiana Department of Education’s (LDOE) Division of Nutrition Support. Meals are prepared and served by SFSP sponsors who are required to follow rules and regulations issued by the USDA and LDOE.  

To participate in the SFSP, sponsors are required to submit a “sponsor application” that includes, among other things, a budget estimating revenues and expenses related to the feeding program. Sponsors are also required to submit a “site application” listing the physical address where meals will be served. In the application, sponsors agree to oversee the administration of SFSP at each approved site. Based on guidelines published by the USDA, LDOE regulations require sponsors to maintain certain records, including but not limited to, daily site records documenting the number of Eligible Meals served to Eligible Persons. Sponsors are reimbursed for expenses after electronically submitting claims to LDOE certifying that each claim is true and accurate. Sponsors can also receive an advance of funds to help pay approved expenses. 

In 2013, Cawthorne was president of United Citizens and Neighborhoods, Inc. (UCAN) and Turner was the executive director. In 2013, Turner and Cawthorne caused UCAN to apply to the LDOE to participate in the SFSP at various feeding sites in the Western District of Louisiana. In late May 2013, Cawthorne created Harvest Catering, Inc. (Harvest Catering) in the name of an unindicted co-conspirator. However, Cawthorne maintained actual control and decision making over Harvest Catering’s financial activity.  More specifically, Cawthorne drafted Harvest Catering checks and maintained a Harvest Catering debit card.

Turner and Cawthorne represented to the LDOE that Harvest Catering would be providing catering services to UCAN at its SFSP sites. In a claim for reimbursement, the defendants submitted a false claim which resulted in a wire being sent on May 20, 2013. On that same date, the LDOE electronically transferred $33,080.78 to UCAN’s bank account using a wire communication traveling in interstate commerce through the Western District of Louisiana. On May 24, 2013, Turner drafted and eventually negotiated a check made payable to a non-profit under her control called Dreamkeepers Academy. In addition, on May 30, 2013, Cawthorne drafted a UCAN check made payable to Harvest Catering in the amount of $8,000. Cawthorne and Turner either via cash withdrawal, check negotiation or debit card used a portion of these funds for personal use and not for the SFSP. The government and the defendants agreed that the loss amount caused by the fraud scheme would be determined at sentencing.

In connection with the tax fraud charge, Cawthorne admitted to hiring a tax return preparer to prepare his 2013 tax return and admitted that he assisted in the preparation of his tax return for the 2013 tax year. Cawthorne received income from Harvest Catering that he failed to report, and he fraudulently reported an adjusted gross income of $7,555 during the 2013 calendar year. Cawthorne knew the statement in his 2013 tax return was false and filed the 2013 tax return on or about April 15, 2014 knowing that it contained false information, in that the amount of his income was higher.

Cawthorne and Turner each face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, on the wire fraud count. In addition, Cawthorne faces up to 3 years in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, on the tax fraud count.

Sentencing for Cawthorne and Turner has been set for March 16, 2022 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Louisiana Office of the State Inspector General, FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and USDA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tennille M. Gilreath and Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced the resolution of three cases today in the Western District of Louisiana. The cases sentenced today are as follows:

Allen Jackson, 32, of Pineville, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 72 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on drug charges.

Jackson pleaded guilty on August 4, 2021 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The charge was the result of an investigation by law enforcement agents in connection with a package that was delivered to a house in Jonesville, Louisiana on August 21, 2020. The package contained approximately 1,490 grams of methamphetamine and was delivered to the house of one of Jackson’s relatives. Law enforcement officers learned during their investigation that Jackson conspired with others to have the package of methamphetamine delivered to his relative’s address. He provided the address of the relative’s house to his co-conspirators with the understanding that he would be compensated in cash and/or methamphetamine in exchange for providing the delivery address.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel prosecuted the case.

Jose Luis Sosa-Almontes, 47, an immigrant illegally in the United States, was sentenced by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty to 210 months (17 years, 6 months) in prison, on drug trafficking charges. Sosa-Almontes is subject to deportation after serving his sentence.

On January 21, 2020, law enforcement agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Monroe, Louisiana were contacted by DEA in Houston, Texas in reference to methamphetamine being transported from Houston to Atlanta. DEA agents had information that Sosa-Almontes was the transporter and would be traveling through the Monroe area. Deputies with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office stopped the vehicle which Sosa-Almontes was driving for a traffic violation and found him to be the lone occupant inside. When asked for his driver’s license, Sosa-Almontes provided a passport from Mexico but stated he did not have a valid driver’s license. Deputies asked for consent to search his vehicle and a K-9 officer positively alerted on a generator in the bed of the truck. Deputies located nine individually wrapped bags that contained approximately nine kilograms of methamphetamine. The bags field tested positive for methamphetamine. Sosa-Almontes was illegally in the United States, having previously been removed at or near Laredo, Texas on September 12, 2012.

The DEA and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

Francisco Portillo-Martinez, a native of Guatemala, was sentenced by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty to 16 months in prison, for re-entry of a removed alien. Portillo-Martinez is subject to deportation after serving his sentence.

Portillo-Martinez was indicted by a federal grand jury on the charge and pleaded guilty on June 28, 2021. This charge is the result of the arrest of Portillo-Martinez on April 4, 2021 by deputies with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office near West Monroe, Louisiana. He had previously been deported from the United States three times from Alexandria, Louisiana: on June 25, 2009, March 18, 2010, and September 17, 2013.  Following his last removal, Portillo-Martinez illegally re-entered the United States in 2016 near Laredo, Texas. He had not received consent from the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for admission to the United States since his previous deportations. Portillo-Martinez has a previous felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance from March 5, 2009 in Pearl River, Mississippi.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.

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ALEXANDRIA, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Jesus Sanchez, 37, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 360 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for second degree murder.

According to evidence presented to the court, on or about June 18, 2014, an inmate arrived at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Pollock. At approximately 7:23 p.m. on that day, cellmates Jesus Sanchez and his co-defendant, David Cortez, aided and abetted by each other, stabbed the newly arrived inmate with a knife on the recreation yard at USP Pollock.

The inmate victim had 19 stab wounds in his upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, arms, neck, and head, and later died at the hospital from injuries sustained from the stabbing. Sanchez and Cortez admitted to killing the inmate victim with malice aforethought.

Cortez previously pleaded guilty to second degree murder in connection with this incident and was sentenced to 350 months to run consecutive to the federal sentence he was already serving.

The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick prosecuted the case.

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ALEXANDRIA, La. – Carlina Moore, 37, of Alexandria, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 12 months and 1 day in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges.  Moore was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $121,600.50.

Moore pleaded guilty on August 4, 2021 to a Bill of Information charging her with wire fraud. Moore was employed by the Montessori Educational Center, Inc. (MEC) as a bookkeeper from May 2018 to August 2020 and she handled all in-house bookkeeping for them.

According to information presented to the court at the hearing, on or about August 25, 2020, the MEC’s administrator reviewed their bank account and discovered a questionable transaction. This prompted the administrator to conduct a further review of the bank and credit card accounts. Their investigation into the questionable transaction revealed that Moore was embezzling funds from the MEC’s accounts without their knowledge or authorization.

Law enforcement agents further investigated the fraudulent activity and confirmed that Moore had in fact defrauded the MEC by transmitting funds by way of wire communications in interstate commerce. Moore admitted that she devised a scheme to defraud the MEC and that she did so in order to obtain money and property from the MEC fraudulently and for her own personal gain. She admitted that she embezzled $121,600.50 from the MEC.

The United States Secret Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Melissa H. Sepulvado, 59, of Zwolle, Louisiana was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 12 months and 1 day in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. Sepulvado was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $145,000.

Sepulvado pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on May 13, 2021. According to information presented to the court at the guilty plea hearing, Sepulvado and her husband were employed by Weyerhaeuser Company (“Weyerhaeuser”) at the company’s mill located in Zwolle, Louisiana. Sepulvado was employed as a Senior Support Specialist and had been with the company for 17 years, and her husband was employed as an hourly worker. Her primary duties were to review and approve payroll entries for the hourly workers at Weyerhaeuser’s Zwolle mill through its internet based, electronic payroll system. In addition, she reviewed vacation payout requests by hourly workers. Vacation payout was an employee-benefit service that Weyerhaeuser provided to some of its hourly workers, which was earned vacation time based on tenure with the company and wages paid to them for the vacation time they took.

From November 2014 to April 2017, Sepulvado defrauded Weyerhaeuser of $145,000 by exploiting her position and access to the payroll system. She regularly entered vacation payout requests for her husband for hours he did not earn, and although she was not supposed to review or approve her husband’s pay requests, she did approve them and sent the approved requests via electronic wire to their payroll department which was outside of Louisiana. Weyerhaeuser then deposited money into her husband’s bank account based on the fraudulent pay requests. Sepulvado took steps to conceal the fraud by backdating numerous vacation payout requests, entering the requests for completed pay periods from months or years earlier. These actions concealed the requests from regular audits of the system.

The FBI conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that a federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, has returned an indictment charging three officers with the Shreveport Police Department, Treveion Brooks, 26, William Isenhour, 25, and D’Andre Jackson, 25, with assaulting two arrestees in Shreveport.

The indictment alleges that on or about January 24, 2020, Brooks, while acting in his official capacity as an officer of the Shreveport Police Department, used unjustified force against an arrestee, identified only in the indictment as D.R., by punching him about the face and body, resulting in bodily injury.

The indictment further alleges that on that same date, Jackson and Isenhour, while acting in their official capacity as officers of the Shreveport Police Department, and while aiding and abetting each other, used unjustified force against another individual identified in the indictment as C.B., by punching him about the face and body, resulting in bodily injury.

Each of the defendants made their initial appearance in United States District Court today and are scheduled to be arraigned November 4, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby.

The civil rights charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment for the deprivation of rights offense.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary J. Mudrick and Cadesby B. Cooper of the Western District of Louisiana and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Anita Channapati are prosecuting the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from north Louisiana were sentenced to prison today by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.

Keaton Lamar Shaw, 34, of Shreveport, was sentenced to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On February 27, 2019, Shaw was the passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by law enforcement officers for a traffic violation. When officers approached the vehicle, they detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside and asked the occupants to exit the vehicle. Shaw exited the vehicle wearing a black backpack. Officers saw a pistol in plain view between the passenger seat and the center console of the truck and found it to be loaded. Officers were aware that Shaw was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition and he was arrested. Law enforcement officers found inside Shaw’s backpack 6 grams of powder cocaine, 3,017 tablets containing 639 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine, 226 grams of marijuana, and a scale. In addition, a search warrant was executed at Shaw’s residence where approximately 18 grams of marijuana was found in the dresser next to his bed.

Shaw has two previous felony convictions for attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in 2008 and 2018, and as such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

The DEA, ATF and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper prosecuted the case.

Jamie William Hill, 42, of Mansfield, Louisiana, was sentenced to 121 months (10 years, 1 month) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Law enforcement agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began an investigation into methamphetamine trafficking activities in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. Through their investigation, they learned on October 25, 2020, that Hill was going to sell methamphetamine at a local motel in Shreveport. Based on that information, agents set up surveillance at the motel. Agents observed Hill drive into the motel parking lot and stay there for a period of time and leave. Deputies with the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of Hill for having an altered temporary registration tag. Hill denied having any drugs in the vehicle and gave deputies consent to search it. Deputies found approximately 263.7 grams of methamphetamine in a clear plastic bag underneath the gear shift. Hill was arrested and later admitted to having more drugs in a nearby hotel room. During the search of the room, law enforcement agents found and seized methamphetamine hidden in a freezer, and in the air conditioning unit, and found a 9mm pistol in his luggage. The methamphetamine was tested by the DEA Lab and determined that the total weight of all that was seized was 263.7 grams.

The DEA, ATF and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging a Monroe, Louisiana man with fraudulently obtaining more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program loans, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook, and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, along with James E. Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration-Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG).

According to the indictment, Michael Ansezell Tolliver, 56, of Monroe, submitted nine fraudulent PPP and EIDL Program loan applications on behalf of several purported companies that Tolliver owned, including Tolliver Oil & Gas Corporation of Louisiana Inc. and Tolliver Petroleum Corporation of Louisiana. According to the indictment, Tolliver falsified information in the loan applications and supporting documents, including falsely claiming that some of his businesses had over 100 employees. He also submitted falsified federal tax returns. In total, Tolliver sought more than $7.6 million in PPP and EIDL Program loans and obtained more than $1.1 million. Tolliver then allegedly laundered and misused the loan proceeds, including by transferring the funds to personal bank accounts and purchasing cars and luxury goods.

Tolliver is charged with two counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. A summons will be issued and he will make his initial appearance at a later date before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kayla D. McClusky of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Louisiana. If convicted, Tolliver faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison per count of money laundering.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The IRS-CI and SBA-OIG are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg and Trial Attorney Justin M. Woodard of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Mansfield man who was convicted by a jury earlier this year of illegally possessing a firearm was sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.

Orentha James Pea, 43, of Mansfield, Louisiana, was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. It was also ordered that this sentence run consecutive to any state court sentence Pea receives if convicted for aggravated battery against his wife. Pea was convicted after a two-day jury trial in May 2021 on two firearms charges, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Evidence introduced at the trial showed the jury that Pea held a gun to his wife’s head in front of their children and threatened to kill her following an argument between the two of them. Pea was previously convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in 2017 and 2018 related to the domestic abuse battery of his daughter and the violation of his wife’s order of protection. Pea also has felony convictions for aggravated battery in 2005, related to shooting his pregnant wife with a firearm, and aggravated battery in 2014, related to striking his wife with a firearm. Testimony at trial revealed that Pea was commonly known to carry a firearm, despite knowing that he was prohibited from doing so as a convicted felon and a person convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. After threatening to kill his wife, who is the victim in this case, Pea went to a cousin’s house and returned back home later that evening. He locked himself and the victim in their bedroom, took her cell phone from her, and berated her for most of the night.

The next morning when they awoke, the victim was able to get away from Pea and call the police to report the threat that he made to kill her the day before and that he had a gun in his possession. Officers with the Shreveport Police Department responded to their home and conducted a search and found the loaded firearm hidden in the house. Laboratory analysis determined that Pea’s DNA was present on the firearm.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper prosecuted the case.

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A federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Louisiana man with fraudulently obtaining more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program loans. 

According to the indictment, Michael Ansezell Tolliver, 56, of Monroe, submitted nine fraudulent PPP and EIDL Program loan applications on behalf of several purported companies that Tolliver owned, including Tolliver Oil & Gas Corporation of Louisiana Inc. and Tolliver Petroleum Corporation of Louisiana. According to the indictment, Tolliver falsified information in the loan applications and supporting documents, including falsely claiming that some of his businesses had over 100 employees. He also submitted falsified federal tax returns. In total, Tolliver sought more than $7.6 million in PPP and EIDL Program loans and obtained more than $1.1 million. Tolliver then allegedly laundered and misused the loan proceeds, including by transferring the funds to personal bank accounts and purchasing cars and luxury goods.

Tolliver is charged with two counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. A summons will be issued and he will make his initial court appearance at a later date before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kayla D. McClusky of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison per count of money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana; Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office; and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) made the announcement.

IRS-CI and SBA-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Justin M. Woodard of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases and has seized over $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866‑720‑5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MONROE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams announced that a federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, has returned an indictment charging Jared Desadier, 43, with assaulting an arrestee in Ouachita Parish.  The two-count indictment charges Desadier with willfully depriving an individual of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242, and with witness tampering in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(b)(3). 

The indictment alleges that on April 21, 2020, Desadier, while acting in his official capacity as an officer of the Monroe Police Department, used unjustified force against an arrestee by kicking him in the area of his face and head, and that the assault caused bodily injury and involved the use of a dangerous weapon (a shod foot).  The indictment further alleges that Desadier attempted to cover up his misconduct by engaging in misleading conduct towards his supervisors. Specifically, the indictment alleges that after the arrestee complained in the presence of supervising officers that he had been assaulted, Desadier claimed that he had not touched or harmed the arrestee and blamed the arrestee’s injuries on a fall.   

If convicted, Desadier faces a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment for the deprivation-of-rights offense and 20 years of imprisonment for the witness tampering offense.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson are prosecuting the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Chase Levi Thibodeaux, 38, of Ruston, Louisiana, with threatening a federal official and transmitting threats in interstate commerce.

The indictment alleges that on or about October 12, 2021, Thibodeaux threatened to murder a Member of Congress while she was engaged in the performance of her official duties, and to retaliate against her on account of her official duties. 

It is further alleged in the indictment that Thibodeaux placed a telephone call to the Member of Congress stating that he would murder her, thereby knowingly transmitting a communication in interstate commerce with the intent to threaten to injure people with knowledge that they would view the communication as a threat.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, Thibodeaux faces not more than 10 years in prison on the charge of threatening a federal official, not more than 5 years on the transmitting threats in interstate commerce charge, 2 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The United States Capitol Police and FBI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.

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MONROE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a federal jury in Monroe, Louisiana, returned a guilty verdict yesterday afternoon convicting Steven Marcus Kelley, 48, of West Monroe, Louisiana, in connection with a murder-for-hire plot. United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty presided over the two-day trial.

On December 16, 2020, Kelley was indicted by a grand jury and charged with use of a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.  The charge stemmed from a letter that Kelley wrote while incarcerated at Ouachita Correctional Center (OCC) and awaiting trial for the rape and molestation of his then-12-year-old and 8-year-old stepdaughters.  In the letter, Kelley tried to hire someone to kill his ex-wife, who is the mother of the victims in the sex crimes case.  Kelley mailed the letter to an individual in Monroe. 

Evidence introduced at the federal trial this week revealed that Kelley obtained the address to which he mailed the letter from another inmate at OCC. Believing the individual who lived at that address would carry out the murder, Kelley offered “$10k for the job” for the individual to put “2 in the chest, 2 in the head” and to “make sure it counts.” Kelley drew a map in both blue and black ink of the area where his ex-wife worked.  In an effort to avoid the letter and crime being traced back to him, Kelley used another inmate’s name for the return address.  Kelley caused the letter to be mailed from OCC via the United States Postal Service.  

On the night of December 10, 2019, the individual who lived at the address to where Kelley mailed the letter received and read the contents of the letter. The letter provided a physical description of the victim, the vehicle she drove, where she worked and her normal schedule to arrive at work. The letter stated that it “HAS to look like a robbery.” Realizing that the letter was soliciting someone to commit a murder, the individual took the letter to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office the next morning.   

Law enforcement officers were able to pull surveillance video from OCC.  The video showed that, on December 5, 2019, Kelley was sitting on his bed writing a letter.  Kelley can be seen in the video alternating between two different pens, which was consistent with the two ink colors used to draw the map.  Later that same day, Kelley can be seen taking an envelope into the cell of the inmate who provided the address of the hopeful hitman.  Kelley sat on the fellow inmate’s bed and addressed the letter.  Moments later, the inmate whose name Kelley used on the return address of the letter entered the cell and engaged in a conversation with Kelley and the other inmate.  Later that evening, Kelley can be seen giving the letter to another inmate who in turns gives it to a correctional officer for mailing.   

On December 30, 2019, law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the Pods at the OCC where Kelley was housed at the time of the incident. Deputies found in Kelley’s belongings a blue and black in pen. They found in the other inmate’s bunk the address of the individual to whom Kelley mailed the letter.

Kelley faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted in and investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica D. Cassidy and Leon H. Whitten prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two individuals have entered guilty pleas before United States District Judge Donald E. Walter in connection with a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud.

Marty T. Johnson, 59, of Shreveport, Louisiana and Keesha Dinkins, 45, of Bossier City, each appeared in United States District Court on October 25, 2021 and pleaded guilty to federal charges. Johnson pleaded guilty to a Bill of Information charging him with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud. Dinkins pleaded guilty to a Bill of Information charging her with misprision of a felony charge of healthcare fraud. Johnson and Dinkins each admitted to defrauding the Medicaid Program out of $3.5 million.

According to information presented to the court, Johnson owned and operated Positive Change Counseling Agency (Positive Change) located in Shreveport, Louisiana, from January 2013 to January 2018. Keesha Dinkins was a manager and supervisor at Positive Change. Positive Change provided mental health rehabilitation and related services to Medicaid beneficiaries in the Caddo and Bossier Parish areas. From 2014 to January 2018, Johnson submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent claims for mental health rehabilitation and non-emergency transportation services on behalf of Positive Change. Dinkins knew that Johnson submitted these fraudulent claims that she and Johnson both knew were not performed or rendered. These fraudulent claims resulted in Positive Change receiving payments from Medicaid to which it was not entitled. 

Johnson admitted to paying individuals money to enroll with Positive Change, increasing the capacity for Positive Change to bill Medicaid for services that were not rendered. Johnson instructed employees, and Dinkins supervised those employees, at Positive Change to create false client files to conceal from Medicaid and insurance company auditors and inspectors that it had not performed the services related to its previously submitted claims which had already been reimbursed by Medicaid. In order to create these false client files, sections from different client documents were physically cut to create inserts which were glued into blank client log templates. These templates with the glued inserts were then photocopied to create the appearance of legitimate documents. Johnson and Dinkins supervised and knowingly and willfully instructed the employees that were creating these false client files to place the false and fictitious photocopied, cut and pasted, documents into the client files.  Johnson and Dinkins knew that these false client files were used to conceal from Medicaid officials that Positive Change did not render the services in the claims submitted by it and paid by Medicaid.

In addition, Johnson knowingly caused Positive Change to use Medicaid recipients’ names and identification information without their knowledge or consent to submit fraudulent claims for mental health rehabilitation and non-emergency transportation.

Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison, 2 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Dinkins faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and a find of up to $250,000. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and FBI are investigating this case and it is still ongoing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Earl M. Campbell and Cadesby B. Cooper are prosecuting the case.

If you have any information pertaining to this or any other type of Medicaid fraud, please contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) or the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Hotline at 1-800-488-2917.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal jury in Lafayette returned a guilty verdict today against William Malone, 45, of Mobile, Alabama, on child pornography charges, Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced.

On October 7, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Malone with five counts of production of child pornography, one count of use of a facility to cause a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to evidence presented during the two-day trial in the Western District of Louisiana, Malone lived in Mobile, Alabama and worked as the captain of a maritime vessel that traveled out of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. An investigation was begun in March 2020 by law enforcement officers with the Mobile Police Department and Child Advocacy Center after they received complaints that Malone had sexually abused a female under the age of 12 years old. The minor victim’s mother reported the allegations after learning from her daughter that Malone had been sexually abusing her.

Law enforcement agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a forensic examination of the minor victim’s cell phone and found evidence that Malone had texted the minor victim and asked her to send him pictures and videos of herself naked and other sexually explicit images of herself. Agents also executed a search warrant onboard the vessel where Malone was working, for his laptop computer and cell phone. During a review of Malone’s laptop computer and cell phone, agents found the sexually explicit images that the minor victim had told law enforcement officers she sent to Malone at his request. Malone was subsequently arrested and charged.

Malone faces a sentence of up to 160 years plus life in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The FBI and Mobile, Alabama Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Luke Walker and Craig R. Bordelon prosecuted the case.

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ALEXANDRIA, La. – Jasmine Roberson, 31, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 60 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on arson charges.

According to information presented in court, on April 20, 2019, firefighters with the Alexandria Fire Department responded to reported fires at a strip mall on Elliott Street in Alexandria, Louisiana. When they arrived at the location, they observed flames in a store-front window and saw a hole in the window. The flames had subdued in that area, but as they moved through the business, they located flames through an open doorway and extinguished the fire. Evidence at the scene led firefighters to suspect arson.

On May 3, 2019, firefighters were called once again to reported fires at the same strip mall on Elliott Street in Alexandria. When they arrived, they found that another business had its front window broken and soot was visible on the ceiling above the window. Firefighters found an unbroken glass bottle that was used to fashion a Molotov cocktail that was filled with gasoline and a rag stuffed in the charred bottle.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began an investigation into both fires and discovered that they were related. After conducting interviews of witnesses, ATF agents learned that the owner of the store that suffered damage from the second fire was in a romantic relationship with an inmate at Hunt Correctional Center. The victim indicated that the boyfriend/inmate had given her money to help start her business but when he learned that her business was not doing well financially, he told her he was going to burn it down.

Further investigation revealed that the boyfriend/inmate contacted Jasmine Roberson and a co-conspirator to set the fires so he could collect insurance money on the failing business. The first fire on April 20, 2019 was started on the wrong business so Roberson went back on May 3, 2019 and attempted to set fire to the correct business location.

A DNA analysis was performed on the glass bottle found at the scene and Roberson was identified as a potential match for DNA found on the bottle used at the fire. Roberson admitted to agents that he attempted to set fire to both businesses.

The ATF and Alexandria Fire Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced three defendants to time in federal prison for federal crimes involving drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.

Albert Williams, 31, of Beaumont, Texas, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. On April 30, 2019 Mega Bus Tours contacted the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office in reference to a bomb scare/threat at Mile Marker 26 on Interstate 10. Law enforcement and fire department personnel arrived on the scene and were standing near the bus as the passengers exited. Williams was a passenger on the bus and when he saw law enforcement officers approaching him, fled the scene on foot carrying a bag. Deputies pursued Williams and saw him place a black pair of sweatpants into a drainage ditch. Williams was apprehended and law enforcement officers located the pants in the ditch. The pants contained a Ziploc bag with a compressed brick of suspected cocaine. The Southwest Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory in Lake Charles tested the substance and determined that it was in fact cocaine with a weight of 1.006 kilograms.

The Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

Byron Lamar Jackson, 31, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On January 2, 2020, Lake Charles Police Department officers were dispatched to the intersection of Church and Grace Streets in reference to an individual possessing a firearm. Officers arrived at the scene and after speaking with witnesses, were given consent to search a nearby residence to search for the firearm. While searching the residence, law enforcement officers located a pistol inside a duffle bag used by Jackson. Jackson admitted to officers that he did in fact possess the firearm. As an individual having previously been convicted of a felony crime, Jackson knew that he was prohibited from possessing the firearm. His prior felony convictions are for possession of controlled substances (2008 and 2015); and illegal use of weapons or danger dangerous instrumentalities (2015 and 2018).

The ATF, Lake Charles Police Department and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen prosecuted the case.

David O’Neil a/k/a “Monster,” 41, of Leesville, Louisiana, was sentenced to 84 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release. On June 29, 2021, O’Neil pleaded guilty to a Bill of Information charging him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Investigators with the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at O’Neil’s residence on January 4, 2019 and during their search, discovered a pistol in the bedroom where O’Neil slept. In addition, law enforcement officers found plastic bags containing suspected methamphetamine. The substance was analyzed by the crime lab and confirmed it to be methamphetamine. O’Neil has prior felony convictions for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of controlled substances in Vernon Parish (2018) and as such is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

The ATF and Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen prosecuted the case.

The cases involving Byron Lamar Jackson and David O’Neil are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Timothy Brian King, 34, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for theft of government property.

On Monday, February 22, 2021 at approximately 3:00 a.m., a 2010 Dodge Charger, a vehicle purchased for and belonging to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was stolen from the FBI’s Lafayette Resident Agency parking lot located in Lafayette, Louisiana. The FBI began an investigation into the theft and reviewed video surveillance from the morning of February 22, 2021. The video surveillance showed a white vehicle enter the parking lot and park next to the FBI vehicle. Shortly after arriving, two unidentified persons can be seen exiting the white vehicle and squatting near the driver’s side door of the FBI vehicle. A short time passes before both vehicles are seen leaving the area.

During the investigation, two FBI employees recalled that they had observed two unknown males looking at the FBI vehicle in the parking lot the Friday before the theft of the vehicle occurred. The unknown males were seen exiting the parking lot in a dark-colored SUV with no visible plates. Law enforcement agents learned that the suspect vehicle had been reported stolen and was found in the possession of King’s girlfriend. The girlfriend told officers that her boyfriend, Timothy King, had loaned her the vehicle. Inside the suspect vehicle, agents found a laptop belonging to FBI and registration for the stolen FBI vehicle.

Law enforcement agents further learned from witnesses that King had admitted to stealing the FBI vehicle. A search warrant was executed at King’s residence and agents found an FBI communications radio that had been previously installed in the stolen FBI vehicle. The stolen vehicle was later located on Johnston Street in Lafayette. King was arrested on March 5, 2021 and confessed to stealing the FBI vehicle.

The FBI, Lafayette Police Department and Duson Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog prosecuted the case.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men involved in trafficking methamphetamine have been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.

James Orville Haynes, 43, of Shreveport, Louisiana was sentenced to 108 months (9 years) in prison and Anthony Allen Kellogg, 40, also of Shreveport, was sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison. Both men were also sentenced to serve 5 years of supervised release following their time in prison.

On May 11, 2020, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Kellogg was distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. Agents also learned that Kellogg was going to obtain kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from his source of supply that evening or the morning. Law enforcement agents established surveillance of Kellogg on May 12, 2020 and followed him as he drove from Shreveport to Bossier City. Agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop of Kellogg, but he fled in his vehicle. While fleeing from agents, they observed him throw items from his passenger side window. Kellogg was stopped a short time later and agreed to speak with agents. He admitted to agents that he obtained 5 kilograms of methamphetamine that morning from his source of supply and provided 3 kilograms of the methamphetamine to a co-conspirator, who was later determined to be James Orville Haynes. Agents later retrieved the items thrown from Kellogg’s vehicle which were bags containing 2,976 grams of actual methamphetamine. The drugs were tested at the crime lab and determined to have 55% purity and had an actual weight of 1,636 grams of methamphetamine.

Following the seizure of the methamphetamine and arrest of Kellogg, law enforcement agents searched the residence of Haynes and found approximately 1,969.77 grams of methamphetamine. Haynes admitted to law enforcement agents that the methamphetamine belonged to him.

The DEA investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Spencer Matthew Legendre, 23, of New Iberia, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Michael J. Juneau to 72 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, on distribution of child pornography charges. Legendre was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.

According to information presented in court, an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) engaged in an undercover chat on a Kik group referring to young girls. The undercover agent observed username “legend_re” which was later identified to be the defendant, Spencer Matthew Legendre, post prepubescent child pornography images from the Kik account over the internet.

A search warrant was executed on February 27, 2020 at Legendre’s residence and he was questioned by law enforcement officers. Legendre confessed to downloading child pornography and admitted that he had distributed child pornography using his Kik account. In addition, law enforcement agents seized Legendre’s cell phone and found numerous images of prepubescent child pornography located on the phone. A forensic examination of the phone revealed that Legendre had distributed child pornography on February 18, 2020.

The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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SHREVEPORT, La. –Two drug traffickers have been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to federal prison for their role in conspiring to possess and distribute illegal narcotics, Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced.

Eduardo Lozano, a/k/a Isaiah Lozano, 20, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced to 121 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. On January 4, 2021, Louisiana State Police stopped a vehicle on Interstate 20 for speeding. Lozano was a passenger in that vehicle and his co-defendant, Omar Guerra, 22, of Dallas, was driving. Mia Duarte, 21, also of Dallas, the sister of Lozano and girlfriend of Guerra, was a passenger in the vehicle. After being interviewed by troopers, Guerra gave permission for law enforcement to search the vehicle. Troopers found approximately 3 kilograms of methamphetamine and 31.7 grams of marijuana in a backpack on the floorboard. Guerra and Duarte admitted to law enforcement officers that they were being paid to pick up and deliver the drugs. Lozano admitted at the guilty plea hearing on June 16, 2021 that he also participated in the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. His co-defendants, Guerra, and Duarte, each also pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy charge.

Guerra was sentenced on October 8, 2021 to 108 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Duarte was sentenced on October 12, 2021 to 46 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release.

The DEA and Louisiana State Police conducted this investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy prosecuted the case.

Casey Head, 39, of Bossier City, Louisiana, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Following a lengthy investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Head and his five co-defendants, a federal grand jury returned an indictment in October 2020 charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During their investigation, agents with the FBI’s Northwest Louisiana Violent Crime Task Force were granted an order to wiretap the phone of one of Head’s co-conspirators. Calls were intercepted revealing that Head helped distribute methamphetamine to many different buyers in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. Head was intercepted on several phone calls and text messages speaking about amounts of methamphetamine and prices and discussing the distribution of the narcotics. He was arrested on October 21, 2020 and admitted his involvement in the drug conspiracy.

The FBI and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted this investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Quintarence D. Morris, 29, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges.

Law enforcements agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Morris was distributing heroin and methamphetamine in the Shreveport/Bossier City and Natchitoches areas. Agents began investigating and surveilling Morris’ activities in July 2020 and observed his active involvement in the trafficking of illegal narcotics, specifically heroin. During their investigation, agents learned that Morris kept heroin at his residence in Natchitoches and was selling the heroin there.

On October 13, 2020, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Morris and a federal search warrant was issued for his residence. DEA agents were unable to locate Morris to serve the arrest warrant and on October 26, 2020 Morris was entered into the National Crime Information Center as a fugitive. While executing the search warrant at the residence, agents found heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. The DEA Lab tested the narcotics and found there to be a net weight of 144.321 grams of heroin.

A Nacogdoches, Texas Police Officer conducted a traffic stop of a rented vehicle on October 27, 2020 and Morris was the driver. The officer learned of the outstanding warrants for Morris and he was arrested and returned to the Western District of Louisiana.

The DEA, Natchitoches Police Department and Nacogdoches, Texas Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moody prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Burnell Gabriel Zachary, 37, of Arnaudville, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst to receiving Coronavirus Food Assistance Program payments to which he was not entitled.

According to information presented to the court, agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA), began an investigation in October 2020 after receiving information that Zachary submitted a fraudulent application to obtain monetary benefits through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The CFAP was established to provide monetary benefits for agricultural producers whose operations were directly impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Eligible producers included those who suffered a 5% or greater decline, or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19. The CFAP provided direct relief to livestock producers.

The investigation concerning Zachary revealed that he had submitted a CFAP application via email on June 15, 2020 claiming that his livestock business sustained significant losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zachary made false and fraudulent claims as to his cattle inventory at Zachary’s Ranch, LLC, and received payments from the USDA of over $70,000 due to those claims. Zachary admitted to making the false misrepresentations in the CFAP application and receiving over $70,000 in benefits and depositing them into his checking account.

“The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and others similar to it were created to assist those who are truly in need of financial assistance following the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “When individuals try to defraud the system like this, it takes benefits from others who have suffered genuine losses. COVID-19 fraud is one of the top priorities of this office and we will continue to work with our federal agency partners to hold these defendants accountable for their cheating ways.”

“The USDA COVID-19 food assistance programs were meant to keep food on tables during this unprecedented time,” said Dax Roberson, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General. “This prosecution should send a strong zero-tolerance message to those opportunistic fraudsters who would take advantage of a national emergency to enrich themselves.”

Zachary faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – Knoxsom R. Peterson, III, 26, of Shreveport, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Donald E. Walter to 115 months (9 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for illegal possession of a firearm.

Peterson was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 27, 2021 and charged with felon in possession of a firearm. While investigating an incident in August 2020 when a Molotov Cocktail was thrown at the Caddo Parish Courthouse, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) uncovered evidence that led to the discovery of Peterson’s prohibited possession of a firearm. On October 20, 2020, agents with the ATF executed a search warrant at Peterson’s residence and found a pistol in an empty purse which had been reported stolen by a Shreveport resident earlier in the year. Initially, Peterson’s girlfriend told law enforcement that the gun was hers but her story as to how she came into possession of it was inconsistent with the facts. Peterson later admitted to law enforcement that he had purchased the firearm from an individual off the streets, despite knowing that because he is a convicted felon, he could not possess any firearm or ammunition.

Peterson has previous felony convictions for simple burglary in 2016 and aggravated flight from an officer in 2020.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Terrance R. Jones, 27, of Carencro, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays to 80 months (6 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

According to information presented to the court, Jones was in the downtown Lafayette area on October 3, 2020. Multiple law enforcement officers were in the area on that same date and were called to a location in that area where a man had a firearm. The suspect turned out to be Jones and after further investigation, law enforcement officers learned that he was a convicted felon and as such, was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.  Jones was arrested and charged with possessing a Taurus semi-automatic pistol and admitted to law enforcement that he knew he was prohibited from possessing any firearms.

Jones has previous felony convictions for attempted possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of hydrocodone (2014); and possession with intent to distribute marijuana (2019).

The ATF and Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook has announced that the City of Shreveport Police Department has been chosen to participate in the National Public Safety Partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook, along with Interim Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, and Caddo District Attorney James Stewart held a press conference today to provide details about the announcement.

The Justice Department announced the 10 new National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) sites that will work with the Department of Justice, local agencies and community organizations to reduce violence in areas with elevated crime rates. PSP serves as a Justice Department- wide initiative that enables communities to receive coordinated training and technical assistance and an array of resources from the Department’s programmatic and law enforcement components. In addition to Shreveport, Louisiana, the 10 sites include: Antioch, California; Aurora, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Gary, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; North Charleston/Charleston, South Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Richmond, Virginia.

“The acceptance into this partnership has taken a long time and the involvement of many before the current administration,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “Violent crime in the Shreveport area has grown despite the Herculean efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement to combat it. The assistance that will be given through this partnership to the Shreveport Police Department will equip our officers and city leaders to combat these growing trends and help to curtail the continued increase of crime.”

“Violence – gun violence in particular - has taken a heavy toll on communities across the country, and its impact has been felt most deeply in neighborhoods where resources have always been scarce and justice has historically been elusive,” said Amy L. Solomon, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs, whose Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the PSP initiative. “We are proud to join local leaders and our partners from across the Department of Justice as we work together to stem the tide of violent crime in these hard-hit communities.”

“From five to now 50 jurisdictions in seven years, PSP has taught the Department a new way to work with communities. We have learned that it is only by leveraging the power of community and using all our collective resources and dedicating all our efforts that we will reduce crime,” said BJA Acting Director Kristen Mahoney. “We look forward to partnering with the 10 new sites to achieve what we are all working toward—safe places to live and work.”

After decades of falling crime rates, statistics show that in many cities across the county violent crime increased in 2020. To address the increase in violence, specifically gun violence, on May 26, 2021, the Attorney General announced the Department’s new Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime. The addition of 10 new PSP sites is one prong in that strategy. The PSP program began as a pilot in 2014 and was formally adopted by the Department as an intensive training and technical assistance protocol in June 2017. Sites must apply to participate. To be considered for selection, a site must have sustained levels of violence that far exceed the national average and demonstrate a commitment to reducing crime and enhancing community engagement.

More than 40 cities have participated in PSP in prior cohorts. The primary participating Justice Department components include the Office of Justice Programs; the Office on Violence Against Women; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

More information about PSP can be found at: http://www.nationalpublicsafetypartnership.org.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

In addition to leadership from local and federal partners, DOJ dedicates specific individuals to support each PSP site throughout the three-year engagement, to include a retired law enforcement executive, a DOJ Program Office Champion to serve as the point of contact for the site, federal law enforcement partners, and a program advisor. PSP federal law enforcement partners include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).

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SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that Dr. Llewelyn Simon, an internal medicine physician from Monroe, Louisiana, has agreed to pay the United States $640,000 to resolve allegations that he accepted payments for referrals of home health patients.

Dr. Simon served as a medical director for the now defunct United Home Care home health agency and in that capacity, received monthly payments. The United States alleged that the medical director fees exceeded the fair market value of the services provided by Simon and that the excess fees were for referrals of patients, many of whom were Medicare beneficiaries.

Congress passed the Anti-Kickback Statute to prevent financial incentives from improperly influencing medical decision-making which can lead to excessive and unnecessary services. Specifically, the Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by federal health care programs.

“Improper financial relationships between health care providers can lead to overutilization and increase the cost of health care services paid for by the taxpayers,” stated Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “We will continue to ensure that health care decisions are based on the needs of patients rather than the financial interests of providers.”

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Theriot handled the case. The resolution was the result of a coordinated effort between federal agencies and illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. 

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

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ALEXANDRIA, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Dustin O. Thompson, 36, of Alexandria, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges. The hearing was held before United States District Judge Dee D. Drell in Alexandria.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment on August 28, 2019 charging Thompson with two drug trafficking offenses and two additional counts involving the illegal possession of firearms. On October 4, 2021, Thompson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The charges in this case stem from an incident on March 12, 2018 when Thompson distributed a controlled substance to an individual in Alexandria and represented to him that the substance was heroin, when in truth and in fact, it was fentanyl. After consuming what he thought to be heroin, but in fact was fentanyl, the individual became unconscious and crashed his vehicle into the Alexandria, Louisiana Police Department. Law enforcement officers administered NARCAN in order to revive him. He was then taken to a local hospital where a NARCAN drip was administered to him for an extended period of time.

Later that day following the crash, law enforcement officers searched Thompson’s residence and found three loaded firearms, 54 grams of fentanyl, and a large sum of cash. In pleading guilty to the charges, Thompson admitted that he intended to distribute the fentanyl to other individuals.

Thompson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the narcotics conviction and not less than 10 years for the firearm conviction. He also faces not less than three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1,000,000. 

The FBI, ATF and Alexandria Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Reeg and J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from South Louisiana have been sentenced by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays.

Deondrick W. Brown, 26, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for drug trafficking. On June 12, 2020, Louisiana State Police Troopers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Brown. Law enforcement officers detected a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and a K-9 positively alerted to the presence of narcotics. A search of the vehicle produced several bags of multi-colored pills/tablets suspected to be MDMA (ecstasy), with a total weight of 6.5 kilograms. The seized narcotics were sent to the DEA lab for testing and analysis.  The analysis confirmed that the 6.5 kilograms of seized narcotics amounted to 46,089 individual pills/tablets containing methamphetamine.  Brown was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and pleaded guilty to the charge on June 30, 2021.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker prosecuted the case.

In an unrelated case, Jordan Leon Huntsberry, 30, of Abbeville, Louisiana, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Huntsberry was charged with making counterfeit United States money and pled guilty to the charge in June 2021. According to information presented to the court at the guilty plea hearing, while investigating a possible firearm-related crime on South College Road in Lafayette on July 25, 2020, officers with the Lafayette Police Department knocked on the door of Huntsberry’s residence. Officers were permitted to enter the apartment and observed in plain view several wet Federal Reserve Notes that appeared to be counterfeit, as well as a printer in the living area of the residence. A search warrant was obtained, and officers conducted a full search of the residence and found 467 suspected counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes of various denominations. Some of the notes were already cut and some were on printed sheets. Officers also located a printer, laptop computer, and other equipment used in counterfeiting. The seized Federal Reserve Notes were analyzed by a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service and determined to be counterfeited notes.

The U.S. Secret Service and Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon prosecuted the case.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Alton Leonard Lowe, 33, of Eunice, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays to 135 months (11 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for enticement of a minor, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.

According to information presented to the court at the guilty plea hearing in this case, Lowe was arrested in May 2020 in Jefferson Davis Parish on charges of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile. Lowe met the victim, who was under the age of 18 years old, through the Grindr app in November 2019. Grindr is a software application that utilizes the internet to allow individuals to meet and communicate. In December 2019, while Lowe was at least 31 years old, he began having sexual relations with the minor victim when he knew the victim was under the age of 18 years old. Lowe and the minor victim accessed the Grindr app via cellular telephones and communicated using the Grindr app and text messaging. Lowe provided the minor victim with a cellular phone and they communicated via text messaging, including what they were going to do the next time they were together.

Lowe pleaded guilty to the charge of enticement of a minor on May 12, 2021 and admitted to using a smartphone to persuade, induce, entice and coerce an individual under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity while having a criminal offense of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. PSC is part of the Department’s focus on reducing the incidence of sexual exploitation of children by directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to promote community action and public awareness and to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.justice.gov/psc.

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LAKE CHARLES, La.  - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Firestone Polymers LLC (Firestone) has agreed to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and several other federal and state environmental laws at the company’s synthetic rubber manufacturing facility in Sulfur, Louisiana. The company will also pay a total of $3.35 million in civil penalties.

The settlement requires several actions from Firestone, including meeting emissions limits, operating and maintenance requirements, equipment controls, limiting hazardous air pollutants from facility dryers, conducting inspections of heat exchangers, installing controls and monitors on covered flares, and installing flaring instrumentation and monitoring systems. After being notified of the violations but prior to the consent decree being lodged, Firestone took other compliance measures, including installing and operating a regenerative thermal oxidizer system to receive waste gases from dryers, reducing n-hexane solvent concentrations and inspecting and testing heat exchangers.

The Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and co-plaintiff Louisiana Department of Environment Quality (LDEQ), filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The complaint alleges that the facility emitted excess amounts of pollutants including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and hazardous air pollutants including 1,3-butadiene, n-hexane, styrene, formaldehyde, methanol, and others and failed to comply with requirements related to equipment such as dryers, cooling towers, and flares; leak detection and repair; mechanical integrity; and monitoring and reporting. The complaint also asserts violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act; the Pollution Prevention Act; and Louisiana state air pollution control requirements.

“Businesses such as Firestone Polymers have a sacred obligation to protect Louisiana’s environment and to use our natural resources wisely,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook for the Western District of Louisiana. “This settlement sends a clear message that those who don’t honor this obligation will be held accountable.” 

“This settlement will ensure cleaner air for the citizens of Louisiana and the communities near Firestone’s plant,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “It also enforces the company’s obligation to inform local communities of potential chemical hazards to aid state and local efforts to control accidental releases.”

“The Clean Air Act is vital to protecting people’s health, and the Sulfur Firestone facility violated these protections as Louisiana’s highest emitter of three types of hazardous air pollutants,” said Acting Regional Administrator David Gray of the EPA. “EPA’s legal and enforcement team, working with DOJ and LDEQ, held the company accountable for reducing emissions, and won additional benefits for environmental justice communities in Southwest Louisiana with improved air monitoring systems. I congratulate our team for their hard work on behalf of the people of Louisiana.” 

“The violations detailed in the complaint represent Firestone’s disregard for the Clean Air Act, which is an underlying authority for environmental regulation in the United States,” said Secretary Dr. Chuck Carr Brown of LDEQ. “LDEQ and our federal partner, EPA, will vigorously pursue any violators of the CAA. These penalties and the beneficial environmental project under the consent decree are the result of our efforts. The beneficial environmental project’s funds will be used to support additional ambient air monitoring in the Westlake and southwest Louisiana areas, which will assist LDEQ’s efforts to improve air quality for these communities.”

As part of the consent decree, Firestone will pay a civil penalty of $2,098,678.50 to the United States and $1,251,321.50 to LDEQ for a total of $3,350,000. Firestone will also complete a Beneficial Environmental Project in Louisiana by funding ambient air monitoring system upgrades in several locations in Southwest Louisiana.

The consent decree was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the decree will be available on the Department of Justice website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

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