New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to a Financial Institution

U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that JARED CASTELLAW, age 34, of New Orleans, and a former employee of an undisclosed entity, ABC Homes, LLC, located in St. Bernard Parish, pled guilty on January 30, 2019 to a Bill of Information charging him with Making False Statements to a Financial Institution.

According to court documents, beginning in or around October 2008 and continuing to on or about May 2009, CASTELLAW, along with co-defendants PATRICK HEALEY and VALERIE SCHONES made false statements to the Federal Housing Administration “FHA” in order to assist low-income borrowers in qualifying for FHA insured loans that they would not otherwise have qualified for. In total, due to the acts of the defendants, the FHA suffered a loss in excess of $852,415.

CASTELLAW faces a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $1,000,000, supervised release of up to 5 years, and a special assessment of $100. The Court set sentencing in this matter for May 15, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.

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

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharan E. Lieberman and Edward J. Rivera.