NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans introduced that NICOLE COCKERHAM (“COCKERHAM”), age 42, of Houma, Louisiana, pled guilty on June 2, 2022 to Theft of Federal government Money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Area 641.
According to files filed in federal court, from March 2019 to July 2020, COCKERHAM knowingly converted approximately $38,851.00 in Social Stability Administration and Coronavirus Help, Relief, and Economic Safety Act (“CARES ACT”) resources.
COCKERHAM faces a utmost penalty of 10 decades imprisonment, followed by up to three (3) yrs of supervised release, a good of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory $100 special evaluation fee. Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for September 13, 2022, in advance of United States District Decide Wendy D. Vitter.
On May well 17, 2021, the Attorney Normal founded the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Power to marshal the resources of the Division of Justice in partnership with agencies throughout authorities to enhance attempts to combat and avert pandemic-similar fraud. The Process Pressure bolsters attempts to examine and prosecute the most culpable domestic and intercontinental prison actors and helps businesses tasked with administering relief plans to protect against fraud by, amid other solutions, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, pinpointing resources and tactics to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and facts and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For a lot more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, make sure you visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anybody with info about allegations of tried fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Section of Justice’s Nationwide Centre for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by using the NCDF World-wide-web Criticism Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-criticism-form.
For far more info on the Department’s reaction to the pandemic, make sure you take a look at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office environment would also like to admit the support of the Social Stability Administration, Office environment of the Inspector Typical, and the Treasury Inspection Basic for Tax Administration with this subject. The prosecution of this case is remaining dealt with by Assistant U.S. Lawyer Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
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