Diamondhead Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

Gulfport, Miss –   Louis Joseph Normand, Jr., 60, of Diamondhead, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. to a Criminal Information charging him with bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

Normand owned businesses involved in the sale of trucks called National Truck Funding and American Truck Group.  From 2013 until 2017, he purchased well over 100 18-wheeler trucks for resale.  During that time, he received financing from a local bank, as well as private lenders, for 80% of the sales price.  In order to increase the amount of the loan and decrease the amount of his down payment, he created false invoices inflating the sales price and, therefore, the amount of the loans he received.  Over this period, he was loaned almost $5,000,000, which was approximately 130% of the actual purchase price of the vehicles.

Normand will be sentenced on October 6, 2020 by Judge Guirola.  He faces maximum penalties of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie.