Reports

A 61-year-old man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BASHIR SCHOFIELD, age 24, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Greg G. Guidry to a bill of information charging him with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, for his role in preparing and filing false applications for loans related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

U.S. District Judge Terence C. Kern sentenced Lauren Michelle Owen, 40, of Jenks, to 27 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. In January, Owen pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Judge Kern further ordered Owen to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution.

NEW ORLEANS - CYNTHIA CARONNA, a resident of Jefferson Parish, was sentenced on November 28, 2023, for conspiring with her co-defendant, Frank LaBruzzo, and with a resident of the United Kingdom, to defraud a business that was seeking to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

James Nolte, 52, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for wire fraud. According to court documents and statements made in court, Nolte fraudulently applied for and received CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $645,717.

Jeremy Graves has been sentenced for theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft for stealing identities to file fraudulent Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Florida man admitted fraudulently obtaining over $2.4 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payments.