Bob Dean Jr. and several companies that he owned and operated have agreed to an $8.2 million consent judgment to resolve allegations that they violated the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA), by misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured…

NEW ORLEANS - United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that LEESSA AUGUSTINE (“AUGUSTINE”), age 46, was indicted on September 20, 2024 for her involvement in multiple fraud schemes while employed as a Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (“S&WB”) Senior Special Agent, a position tasked with investigating the alleged misconduct of other Sewerage & Water Board employees.In one alleged scheme, AUGUSTINE, who…

Defendant Fraudulently Obtained $223,870 FHA-Insured Home MortgageHUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jason Trador, 46, of Scott Depot, was sentenced today to one year and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $65,302.16 in restitution for making a false statement to federal agents, willfully overvaluing property on a loan application, and three counts of making a false statement to the United States…

Defendant Fraudulently Obtained $223,870 FHA-Insured Home MortgageHUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After two days of trial, a federal jury convicted Jason Trador, 46, of Scott Depot, on April 10, 2024, of making a false statement to federal agents, willfully overvaluing property on a loan application, and three counts of making a false statement to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)Evidence at trial proved that Trador…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report examining the City of New Orleans’ (the City) use of HUD’s National Disaster Resilience grant funding.  HUD’s program is designed to help state and local communities recover from past disasters, while also improving their infrastructure to withstand future extreme events through strategic community…

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Timothy Gross, 39, of Beckley, was sentenced today to five years of probation and ordered to pay $65,275.44 in restitution for wire fraud. Gross admitted to making a fraudulent payment with an employer-issued credit card as part of a scheme to divert $65,275.44 in credit card charges to his personal bank account.According to court documents and statements made in court, Gross was hired by Amerihost LLC in 2020 as a maintenance…

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Laquenta Lowe, 46, of Beckley, was sentenced today to five years of federal probation and ordered to pay $8,954.76 in restitution for conversion of public money exceeding $1,000. Lowe admitted to stealing at least $7,978.91 in federal funds while employed by the Raleigh County Housing Authority (RCHA). According to court documents and statements made in court, Lowe was chief financial officer and accountant for the RCHA from…

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Timothy Gross, 39, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, admitting to making a fraudulent payment with an employer-issued credit card as part of a scheme to divert more than $65,000 in credit card charges to his personal bank account. According to court documents and statements made in court, Gross was hired by Amerihost LLC in 2020 as a maintenance worker for Beckley Town Homes, a multi-unit apartment building in…

BECKLEY, W.Va. Laquenta Lowe, 45, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to conversion of public money exceeding $1,000. Lowe admitted to stealing at least $7,978.91 in federal funds while employed by the Raleigh County Housing Authority (RCHA). According to court documents and statements made in court, Lowe was chief financial officer and accountant for the RCHA from July 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019. Lowe was executive director of the RCHA from…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Pamela McDaniel, 68, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to alteration of a postal money order, and admitted she used her position at the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority (CKHA) to obtain the money order and embezzle more than $28,000. According to court documents and statements made in court, McDaniel had been employed by CKHA since 2006 and was serving as a housing manager in 2018. As a housing manager, McDaniel’s…

ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Lisa G. Cooper, 55, of Cottonport, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to federal program theft. The hearing was held today before United States District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to evidence presented to the court, Cooper was employed by, and an agent of, the Cottonport Housing Authority (“CHA”), which is a local government agency that provides…

ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Lisa G. Cooper, 55, of Cottonport, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to federal program theft. The hearing was held today before United States District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to evidence presented to the court, Cooper was employed by, and an agent of, the Cottonport Housing Authority (“CHA”), which is a local government agency that provides…

New Orleans, LA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Kevin Richardson, 59, of New Orleans, was sentenced on January 13, 2022 by United States District Judge Susie Morgan to thirty (30) months in the Bureau of Prisons for violating Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1952(a)(3) and 2, use of an interstate facility with intent to carry on unlawful activity. According to the court documents, Richardson was employed…

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that today WESLEY T. BISHOP, age 52, of New Orleans was sentenced to 4 (four) years of probation, before U.S. District Judge Greg Guidry, for making a false statement, a crime punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.  BISHOP admitted to knowingly and willfully making a false, material statement to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in connection…