Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson has announced the sentencing of Jazmin J. Bougere, a 38-year-old resident of Raceland, Louisiana. On July 17, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Barry W. Ashe sentenced Bougere to six months in prison followed by six months of home detention for theft of government funds related to the CARES Act.
The CARES Act was enacted on March 29, 2020, providing emergency financial assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic's economic effects. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program under the CARES Act offered unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment benefits.
Court documents reveal that in May 2020, Bougere improperly obtained and facilitated payments totaling approximately $275,000 from various states' unemployment insurance claims during the pandemic.
In addition to incarceration and home detention, Bougere received three years of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count.
The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force on May 17, 2021. This task force works with government agencies to combat pandemic-related fraud by investigating and prosecuting criminal actors involved in fraudulent schemes.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General for their investigation efforts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera led the prosecution.
For more information about the Department’s response to pandemic-related fraud or to report allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19, visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus or contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.
