Federal Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment Against Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson, Angela Coleman, and Former State Representative Renee Gill Pratt

NEW ORLEANS, LA—RENEE GILL PRATT, age 55, former elected State Representative for House District 91, State of Louisiana, and former New Orleans City Councilmember, along with BETTY JEFFERSON, age 70, an elected tax assessor in New Orleans, MOSE JEFFERSON, age 66, and ANGELA COLEMAN, age 53, all residents of New Orleans, Louisiana, were charged via a 34-count superseding indictment by a Federal Grand Jury today with Conspiracy to Violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Defrauding the United States, Mail Fraud and Honest Services Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, Money Laundering, False Statements and Tax Evasion, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Defendants MOSE JEFFERSON, BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN were originally indicted in a 31-count indictment in June, 2008. Today’s indictment supersedes the original, adding defendant RENEE GILL PRATT, and with the count charges set forth below.

The indictment alleges that from1991 through 2006, PRATT, MOSE JEFFERSON, BETTY JEFFERSON, and COLEMAN, operated a criminal enterprise for the financial and political benefit of the defendants both directly and through the use of various non-profit entities and for-profit companies, as well as the elected offices of the State Representative’s Office for District 91, the City Councilmember’s Office for District B, and the Office of the Tax Assessor for the 4th Municipal District of Orleans Parish.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants devised a scheme to deprive the citizens of the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans of their intangible rights to the honest services of elected public officials, defendants RENEE GILL PRATT and BETTY JEFFERSON. The new indictment re-alleges many of the charges in the original indictment against MOSE JEFFERSON, BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN which include mail fraud, aggravated identity theft; money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and now includes RICO conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States. The indictment also alleges that BETTY JEFFERSON committed four counts of tax evasion and that MOSE JEFFERSON committed two counts of making false statements to FBI Special Agents.

The indictment alleges that these defendants controlled numerous specified for-profit and non-profit companies, thereby obtaining control over federal and state grant funds as well as state appropriations for these non-profit companies by applying for charitable and educational grants designed to assist needy, at-risk and disadvantaged youth and other individuals in need of assistance. According to the indictment, the defendants would and did write checks out of the non-profit bank accounts payable to individuals who did not work for the grant programs, thereafter depositing those checks into their (the defendants) own personal checking accounts, or otherwise using the funds to pay for their personal expenses.

It is also alleged that the defendants funneled federal and state grant funds to themselves by writing checks on the non-profits’ bank accounts, thereby transferring monies into their companies thereby falsely creating the illusion that the payments were for legitimate business purposes.

Additionally, the indictment charges that MOSE JEFFERSON used grant funds to pay for work performed at his direction on properties owned by him and RENEE GILL PRATT, which had no relation to the non-profit grantees.

Count 1 - RICO: Specifically, the new, superseding indictment charges as Count 1, a racketeering (RICO) conspiracy against all four defendants – MOSE JEFFERSON, BETTY JEFFERSON, ANGELA COLEMAN, and RENE GILL PRATT. Maximum penalty: up to twenty (20) years imprisonment. (Original counts 1, 12, and 13 – Conspiracy and Theft of Money from organizations receiving federal funds (Federal Program Fraud) – are not included in the new indictment.)

Specifically, Count 1 of the RICO conspiracy alleges that RENEE GILL PRATT, while a member of the House of Representatives for the State of Louisiana, secured a line item appropriation for $300,000 for the purchase of I Can Learn software for the Holy Ghost Catholic School and Xavier University Preparatory Academy. The indictment alleges defendant RENEE GILL PRATT, in securing the $300,000 appropriation, enabled defendant MOSE JEFFERSON to receive a $30,000 commission from JRL Enterprises from which RENEE GILL PRATT was in turn provided with $3,500.

Count 1 of the RICO conspiracy further alleges that during the time in which RENEE GILL PRATT was a City Councilmember for District B, she arranged for the City of New Orleans to pay for “satellite” office space at 3313 South Saratoga Street, a building owned by defendant MOSE JEFFERSON. Rental payments by the City of New Orleans were received into a bank account associated with a MOSE JEFFERSON for-profit company called Southwind, which on March 31, 2003, paid RENEE GILL PRATT $5,000 by check. Also in association with rental payments by the City of New Orleans to Southwind, defendant MOSE JEFFERSON paid for RENEE GILL PRATT’s Mardi Gras dues and throws for the Krewe of Muses.

Count 1 of the RICO conspiracy further alleges, along with substantive counts of honest services and mail fraud, that BETTY JEFFERSON used money designated for the operation of her Tax Assessor’s office to pay personal bills and her mortgage.

Finally, Count 1 of the RICO conspiracy also alleges that RENEE GILL PRATT, through the misuse of her office as City Councilmember, misappropriated four (4) vehicles donated by DaimlerChrysler to the City of New Orleans for the purpose of assisting New Orleans in the recovery following Hurricane Katrina.

Counts 2, 14: Mail Fraud – are charged as follows:

• Count 2 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 3 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 4 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 5 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 6 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 7 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 8 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 9 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 10 – MOSE JEFFERSON
• Count 11 – BETTY JEFFERSON, MOSE JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 12 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 13 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 14 – BETTY JEFFERSON

Each mail fraud count carries a maximum penalty of up to twenty (20) years imprisonment. (Counts 12, 13, and 14 charging BETTY JEFFERSON with Honest Services Mail Fraud were not contained in the original indictment, and have been added.)

Counts 15-24: Aggravated Identity Theft – Penalty: two (2) years (mandatory consecutive) imprisonment per count. (Previously charged as Counts 2 - 11)

The following defendants are charged accordingly:

• Count 15 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 16 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 17 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 18 – ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 19 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 20 – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 21 – ANGELA COLEMAN
• Count 22 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 23 – BETTY JEFFERSON
• Count 24 – ANGELA COLEMAN

Counts 25 and 26: Money Laundering. Maximum penalty: twenty (20) years imprisonment per count. Count 25 charges ANGELA COLEMAN, and Count 26 charges BETTY JEFFERSON each with one count of Money Laundering.

Count 27: Money Laundering Conspiracy – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN. Penalty: twenty (20) years maximum imprisonment.

Counts 28 and 29: False Statements to Special Agents of the FBI – MOSE JEFFERSON. Penalty: five (5) years maximum imprisonment per count. (Previously Counts 24, 25, and 26 charge – Count 26 has been eliminated in the new indictment.)

Counts 30-33: Income Tax Evasion – BETTY JEFFERSON. Penalty: five (5) years maximum imprisonment per count. (Previously charged as Counts 27-30).

Count 34: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States – BETTY JEFFERSON and ANGELA COLEMAN. Penalty: twenty (20) years maximum imprisonment.

Forfeiture Counts: three (3) separate counts seeking forfeiture of property and money which were the alleged proceeds of charged illegal activity in the indictment, including a money judgment in the amount of $1,073,086.

If convicted on all counts, defendant MOSE JEFFERSON faces a maximum possible sentence of up to seventy (70) years imprisonment, and $1,250,000 in fines.

If convicted on all counts, defendant BETTY JEFFERSON faces a maximum possible sentence of up to three hundred thirty-nine (339) years imprisonment, and $6,750,000 in fines.

If convicted on all counts, defendant ANGELA COLEMAN faces a maximum possible sentence of up to two hundred fifty-seven (257) years imprisonment, and $4,750,000 in fines.

If convicted on all counts, defendant RENEE GILL PRATT faces a maximum possible sentence of up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, and $250,000 in fines.

U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that today’s indictment is a charge and that the guilt of each defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Daniel P. Friel, Dorothy Manning Taylor, and Brian Marcelle.