Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that a former North Shore resident, who had left the country last year before being charged in early 2017, pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
BILAL AHMED, also known as Bill, 42, formerly of Covington, acknowledged as part of his guilty plea that he devised a scheme to defraud others of money and property. As part of this scheme, he posed as a wealthy individual who stood to received millions of dollars from his native country of Pakistan. He induced at least one other conspirator to work with him, directing this conspirator to pretend to be a bank employee and to make other false statements. During the conspiracy, AHMED presented false documents, including a fraudulent $10,000,000 loan document to others. As a result of AHMED’s false and fraudulent representations, he caused wirings totaling $70,000 to be made in interstate commerce.
AHMED faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also faces monetary penalties, supervised release, and restitution. U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey set sentencing for Aug. 22, 2017.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans commended special agents of Homeland Security Investigations and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputies, who investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden Brockett is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
