MARRERO MAN INDICTED FOR STEALING CHURCH’S HURRICANE RELIEF FUNDS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -NOAH THOMAS, age 42, a resident of Marrero, Louisiana, was charged in a one-count Bill of Information for mail fraud, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, THOMAS was the pastor of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church . The church building, located in the 2200 block of South Liberty Street in New Orleans , was devastated by flood water following Hurricane Katrina. Since the church did not have flood insurance, the congregation applied for and received a $252,000 SBA loan and a $35,000 grant from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
The Bill of Information alleges that THOMAS created a scheme to defraud the Church of the grant funds for his own personal benefit by having the $35,000 check from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund mailed to his house and then deposited into a bank account that he established and controlled. It is also alleged that THOMAS created a similar scheme to defraud the Church of the SBA loan money by having the SBA wire the initial $10,000 disbursement of the disaster loan into the same bank account.
If convicted, THOMAS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, a fine of $250,000.00 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Small Business Administration–Office of Inspector General, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Emily K. Greenfield and Michael McMahon.