24 Shreveport Gang Members Indicted For CARES Act Fraud

Picture taken by Justin Bryan Galloway formerly of the Forum Newsweekly Magazine in Shreveport, Louisiana. The owner of this photo is the one who uploaded it. Any questions can be directed to justin.galloway@sbcglobal.net I give full release of this image. Taken August 2005, near the interchange of Interstate 20 and Interstate 49 in Shreveport, Louisiana. (ShreveNewsMan at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The CARES Act which purportedly pumped massive amounts of Taxpayer dollars into businesses suffering due to the COVID-19 lockdowns only to be proven rife with fraud and abuse as are nearly all government subsidies, was reportedly abused by two-dozen Shreveporters according to an indictment from U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown.

KSLA reported that per Brown, individuals and groups have collaborated and conspired using false infomation to complete the applications to obtain funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act via the Small Business Administration (SBA), and use them to purchase firearms.

The groups reportedly stole between $20,000-$200,000. Brown told the outlet, “There’s no secret that the Shreveport community is suffering from a violent crime epidemic.”

The U.S. Attorney added that all but one of the 24 arrested were either part of or associated with the Shreveport Gang SOD or “Step or Die.” The 24th person, a Henry Rodriguez, is considered a fugitive.

In a Tuesday press conference Brown said:·        "we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who took advantage of the taxpayer dollar during this time to the fullest extent of the law. This is not the first CARES Act prosecution that we brought, and this will not be the last."

"We've been investigating violent street gangs since before COVID," he added. "We've prosecuted some of the individuals federally in this indictment that have gone to federal prison, and they've gotten out and they're back at it again."

“This has been a long time coming. Our team has been looking at this gang for quite some time. And we're not through,” said Brown.

He explained that the indictments based upon the CARES Act are only one way that the USAO can combat crime in Northern Louisiana. Crime which has reached epidemic levels.

"There are certain crimes, we cannot prosecute; standalone murders, attempted murders, drive-by shootings," Brown said according to The Shreveport Times. "There's no federal statute that allows us to prosecute those; if there were I would do it in a heartbeat. But there are other ways that we can help and prosecute individuals."

“Doing things to try and eradicate the violent crime epidemic that we’re in right now and then these individuals took advantage of America at her most vulnerable state.,” said Brown.

In a statement the USAO for the Western District of Louisiana wrote, “If convicted, the defendants face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, 1 to 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Treasury-Inspector General for Tax Administration, and United States Marshal’s Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.”

Douglas A. Williams, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of FBI New Orleans said in the statement, “The FBI works with its partners to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises like this one Individuals or groups who seek to steal from programs meant to aid Americans in their time of need, will be investigated and prosecuted accordingly.”