Atlanta Couple Charged with Theft of Government Money and Structuring Financial Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements

NEW ORLEANS—SHANTRICE DIAL, age 41, and JAMON DIAL, age 40, both residents of Atlanta, Georgia, were charged in an eight-count indictment filed today for theft of government money and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to the indictment, SHANTRICE DIAL and JAMON DIAL, a subcontractor for New Orleans Affordable Homeownership (NOAH) contractor Parish-Dubuclet Services, Inc., engaged in a series of thefts of funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the City of New Orleans in the form of annual Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), designed to support home remediation work to residences following Hurricane Katrina.

Further according to the indictment, SHANTRICE DIAL, on three separate occasions, engaged in financial transactions exceeding $10,000 in a single day, which were designed to cause a financial institution to fail to file a currency transaction report on such transactions as required by law.

If convicted, SHANTRICE DIAL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 65 years, a $2 million fine, three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment.

If convicted, JAMON DIAL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 50 years, a $1.25 million fine, three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment.

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

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Fred P. Harper, Jr.