NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - HILLIARD FAZANDE, III (“FAZANDE"), age 50, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to 18 months probation and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,000 to Hancock Whitney Bank, announced United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser.
According to court documents, on Oct. 26, 2015, FAZANDE opened a bank account at the Whitney branch located at 3001 Holiday Drive in New Orleans, Louisiana. On Oct. 30, 2015, FAZANDE endorsed and deposited a TD Bank $387,000 cashiers check made payable to “Attorney Hilliard C. Fazande III" into his account at the Whitney branch located at 3001 Holiday Drive in New Orleans, Louisiana. On Oct. 31, 2015, FAZANDE went to the Whitney branch located at 8300 Louisiana Highway 23 in Belle Chasse, Louisiana and presented a bank teller with a temporary Whitney check in the amount of $5,000.00 knowing that he did not have sufficient funds to cover the transaction due to a bank hold on the $387,000.00 check. FAZANDE then made a $5,000.00 cash withdrawal from his account. On November 4, 2015, a Whitney employee contacted FAZANDE and advised him that the $387,000.00 check was counterfeit and that he must return the $5,000.00 he withdrew. FAZANDE never returned the money to the Whitney Bank.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
