Belle Chasse Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Louisiana Road Home Program
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 13, 2009 |
NEW ORLEANS, LA—THOMAS G. STEELE, age 62, a resident of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, pled guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt to one count of making false statements to a federal agency in connection with a Louisiana Road Home Program application, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, in 2007, STEELE applied for financial assistance for Hurricane Katrina related damage sustained on a property located on Planters Canal Road in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. In his Road Home application, STEELE represented that the property was his primary residence on the date Hurricane Katrina struck. STEELE admitted that he was living in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time Hurricane Katrina made landfall. As a result of the fraudulent application, STEELE received approximately $119,935.00 in Road Home funds.
STEELE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five (5) years, restitution, a $250,000 fine and up to three (3) years supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 24, 2010.
This investigation was conducted by Special Agents with the Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia K. Evans.