Harvey Man Pleads Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Program
Aug 29, 2024
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Louisiana
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Richard Hebert, Jr., age 57, of Harvey, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to making a false statement to a bank in connection with his filing of numerous false and fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in 2020.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Hebert owned and operated several businesses including Brookland Realty, LLC, Interstate Construction and Demolition Group, Inc., K-Bear Investments, LLC. Hebert Real Estate Holdings, LLC, Interstate Construction Group, Inc., Albritton Home Construction Group, Inc., and R&M Builders and Real Estate, LLC.
Between April of 2020 and July of 2020, Hebert submitted 12 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of seven different companies to five different banks attempting to get more than $3.4 million in PPP loan funds. On these applications, he falsely inflated each business’s average monthly payroll and its number of employees in order to get the banks to pay out larger PPP loans. In support of these fraudulent applications, Hebert provided false tax forms and other documentation. As a result of his fraudulent submissions to the banks, more than $2.2 million in pandemic funds were paid out.
This matter is being investigated by the United States Secret Service, and the United States Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M.P. Thornhill, who also serves as the Deputy Chief of the Economic Crime Unit and Assistant United States Attorney M. Patricia Jones, who also serves as the Appellate Chief.
Anyone with information about allegations of pandemic fraud can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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