A former employee of the Louisiana Department of Education, Romney Manuel, 51, of Prairieville, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis.
Manuel entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and supervised release.
According to statements made during his plea hearing, Manuel admitted that from April 2020 through at least March 29, 2021, he worked with another individual to obtain federal funds fraudulently through the LaCAP grant program administered by the Louisiana Department of Education. As part of the scheme, they created records for a childcare provider that did not exist and manipulated department spreadsheets and data systems to steal $74,250 in federal funds.
The LaCAP grant money is provided as part of federal disaster relief efforts under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), which supports communities affected by major disasters or emergencies declared by the President.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy S. Johnson is prosecuting the matter.
“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.”
