United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Richard Hebert, Jr., 57, of Harvey, Louisiana, to seven years in federal prison for making a false statement to a bank related to fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In addition to his prison term, Hebert will serve three years of supervised release and pay $2,450,639.93 in restitution to the United States Small Business Administration.
The court documents reveal that between April and July 2020, Hebert submitted at least 12 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of seven companies to five banks, seeking over $4.2 million meant as emergency financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hebert made false claims about his businesses and used fake tax forms with real personal identifiable information to support his fraudulent applications. His actions resulted in a loss exceeding $2.4 million.
"This strong sentence is a testament to the significant crime that this former law enforcement officer committed," said United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe. "Hebert was trained to serve and protect but instead he took advantage of a government safety net program."
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica M.P. Thornhill, M. Patricia Jones, and Brad Casey.
Reports of pandemic fraud can be made through the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or its web complaint form.
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