NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Louisiana, Eastern), published as received.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that DONDRE MORGAN, (“MORGAN”), age 31, of Houma, LA, was indicted on March 10, 2023 on two (2) counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341 and one (1) count of Making False Statements to Federal Agents in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).
According to the indictment, MORGAN, Sharnae Every, MORGAN’S girlfriend, and others defrauded the SBA and other designated financial institutions of approximately $1,142,041.00 through the submission of approximately 110 fraudulent PPP loan applications. As part of the scheme to defraud , Every recruited friends and family members primarily via Facebook to send Every their personal and bank information in exchange for "free money." MORGAN also assisted in recruiting various friends and family members by speaking with them in person or texting them, telling them to contact Every.
Every charged the individuals she recruited anywhere from $45.00 to $120.00 to prepare and submit the fraudulent PPP application. Every primarily used Cash App. to receive the initial payments. Every then charged $3,500.00 once the loans were funded and received these funds into her Current account, her Cash App account, or into MORGAN’s Current account.
On September 9, 2022, Every was indicted by a federal grand jury for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and Mail Fraud. On March 2, 2023, Every pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8, 2023 by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier.
If convicted, MORGAN faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years per count for Counts 1 and 2 and five (5) years for Count 3, followed by a term of supervised release for up to three (3) years, a fine up to $250,000.00 per count, or twice the gross gain to the defendant, or twice the gross loss to any victim, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee per count.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; and the United States Secret Service’s Cyber Fraud Task Force, consisting of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, Thibodeaux Police Department, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit; Assistant United States Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator; and Assistant United States Attorney Mary Katherine Kaufman of the Civil Division.
