Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the sentencing of Latricia Hope Haynes Moliere, a 51-year-old resident of LaPlace, Louisiana. Moliere was sentenced on July 10, 2025, for making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA), violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.
Court documents revealed that in March 2021, Moliere submitted a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application falsely claiming ownership of a baking sole proprietorship with an average monthly payroll of $8,041. She supported her application with a fraudulent IRS Form 1040 Schedule C. Later, she filed for bankruptcy stating she was not a sole proprietor. Her false claims led to receiving $20,102 from the SBA, which was forgiven after she misrepresented spending the funds on payroll.
United States District Judge Eldon E. Fallon sentenced Moliere to three years of probation and imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. Additionally, Moliere agreed to pay restitution amounting to $22,742.71 to the SBA.
The Department of Justice encourages reporting any information about attempted COVID-19 fraud by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or using their web complaint form.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the efforts of the United States Secret Service and the United States Trustee in investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorney Maria M. Carboni from the Financial Crimes Unit is managing the prosecution.
