U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that SHANQUITTA JONES-DILLON, age 40, of Buras, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information charging her with wire fraud.
According to court documents, in 2010, JONES-DILLON filed a false claim for damages arising out of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. As part of the scheme to defraud, JONES-DILLON submitted false documents to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) during the claims process. The fraudulent claim submitted by JONES-DILLON caused the GCCF to release over $63,000 in damage payments to which she was not entitled.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is twenty years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victim. U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk set sentencing for Sept. 15, 2016.
This case was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at disaster@leo.gov or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Secret Service in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II is in charge of the prosecution
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
