Jetty Hui Pleads Guilty to Lying to FBI Over Fake BP Spill Claim

Jetty Hui, a 44-year-old New Orleans business owner, has admitted to feeding lies to federal agents as part of a scheme to cash in on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Hui pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI, a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2), after fabricating business losses to siphon money from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust.

Hui, operator of Cabinets and Countertops Direct, submitted falsified documentation claiming financial damage from the April 20, 2010 explosion that ruptured the Gulf Coast economy. The so-called losses were pure fiction—engineered solely to trigger a payout. On December 2, 2010, the scam worked: Hui collected approximately $72,500 in fraudulent compensation.

But the lies didn’t stop when the money cleared. In May 2012, when FBI agents began probing suspicious claims, Hui doubled down. He made false, deliberate statements asserting the losses were legitimate—knowing full well they were invented. That deception landed him squarely in federal crosshairs, charged with obstructing justice by misleading federal investigators.

The consequences now loom large. Hui faces up to five years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. No deals erase the stain of defrauding a relief fund meant for victims of one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 14, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, who accepted the guilty plea. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans made the announcement, underscoring the federal government’s ongoing crackdown on fraud tied to disaster relief. “Those who exploit tragedy for personal gain will be held accountable,” Evans said. For Hui, the cost of greed is finally coming due.