Metairie Woman Sentenced for Forging a Seal of a Department or Agency of the United States
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 28, 2010 |
STEPHANIE O. LANGLOIS, age 38, a resident of Metairie, Louisiana, was sentenced in federal court today by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey to six months of imprisonment for one count of forging a seal of a department or agency of the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should she violate the terms of her release.
According to court documents, on eight separate occasions between October 2007 and February 2008, the defendant forged and counterfeited the Office of Management and Budget seal and printed the seal on documents purporting to be grant award letters. She distributed these letters to potential clients for the purpose of misleading them into thinking that an official government agency had awarded them grant money that would assist them in rebuilding their businesses from damage sustained in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman.