NOAH Contractor Richard Hall Sentenced for Conspiracy and Theft from a Program Receiving Federal Funds

Richard Hall, age 47, a resident of Harvey, Louisiana, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Jay C. Zainey, to 24 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds, the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership (NOAH) program, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. The court, in sentencing Hall, granted the government’s motion for an upward variance from the sentencing guidelines. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Zainey imposed three years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release. The defendant was ordered to pay restitution in excess of $116,000 and fined $30,000.

According to court documents, Hall, a contractor for New Orleans Affordable Homeownership (NOAH), engaged in conspiracy to steal and theft from a program receiving federal 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 on residences located in New Orleans, Louisiana, following Hurricane Katrina. Hall admitted to conspiring to steal such funds and being paid for multiple home remediations he did not perform. Hall received tens of thousands of dollars in funds that he was not entitled to because either he did not perform remediation work such as gutting, boarding, and grass cutting; he had already been paid for work performed on residences and subsequently received and accepted payment again for the same work; or he collected double payments for work which he did not perform.

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 was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Fred P. Harper, Jr.