Category: Public Corruption
Kyle James Loudner, Embezzlement, South Dakota 2026
⏱ 2 min read Kyle James Loudner, 40, and Talyn Ashley Douville, 34, of Pukwana, South Dakota, were sentenced to federal prison for embezzling $160,000 from the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. The theft occurred between May 27, 2022, and July 2, 2024, when Loudner, an elected official, and Douville, a tribal employee, drew nearly 100…
Cindy Jacques, Perjury, Alabama 2025
⏱ 2 min read Cindy Jacques, a 59-year-old woman from Hope Hull, Alabama, lied under oath in a federal court in an attempt to protect her son, Raymond David Jacques III, who was accused of assaulting a victim in a domestic disturbance in Tallassee, Alabama, on July 13, 2025. When law enforcement responded to the…
Lawson B. Watson, Public Corruption, South Carolina 2021
⏱ 2 min read Lawson B. Watson, 74, and Amos Durham, 62, former employees of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, were sentenced for their roles in a public corruption scheme led by former Sheriff Chuck Wright. The scheme, which lasted from 2021 to 2025, involved Watson receiving a no-show job with a…
Brian Pfaffinger, Conspiracy to Falsify Records, Massachusetts 2025
⏱ 3 min read Six former and one current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) employee have been charged with conspiring to falsify Red Line track inspection reports and collect fraudulent overtime payments in Boston, Massachusetts. The scam allegedly involved falsifying records and collecting thousands of dollars in overtime pay. The defendants, including supervisor Brian Pfaffinger…
Scott Allen Simpkins, Obstruction of Justice, California 2021
⏱ 2 min read A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, Scott Allen Simpkins, 34, of Brea, was involved in a shocking case of obstruction of justice. In August 2021, Simpkins was hired by Adam Iza, a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman, to provide private security at his Bel Air mansion. However, things took a dark turn…
Debbie Norris Woodell, Federal Program Theft, North Carolina 2016
⏱ 2 min read Debbie Norris Woodell, the 64-year-old former director of the Dunn Housing Authority in North Carolina, has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit federal program theft. Between 2016 and 2021, Woodell exploited her position to steal over $200,000 from the agency, which provides affordable housing to…
Jack Montoucet, Public Corruption, Louisiana 2026
⏱ 3 min read Jack Montoucet, the former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to take illegal kickbacks in awarding a government contract. The scheme, which took place in Lafayette, Louisiana, involved Montoucet steering a contract to a company called DGL1,…
Dustin Weitzel, Wire Fraud, Nebraska 2026
⏱ 2 min read Dodge County Sheriff Dustin Weitzel, 46, of Fremont, Nebraska, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after embezzling funds from the Dodge County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 17 (FOP17). Weitzel, who has been employed by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office since 1999, was charged with one count of wire fraud on…
Luis A. Jiménez-Guzmán, Bribery Conspiracy, Puerto Rico 2019
⏱ 2 min read Luis A. Jiménez-Guzmán, a Puerto Rico Department of Treasury employee, pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy that cost the island $5 million in lost tax revenue. The scheme, which lasted from February 2019 to March 2023, involved Jiménez-Guzmán accepting cash payments and other benefits in exchange for submitting false information to…
David Hearn, Vandalism, District of Columbia 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 67-year-old Maryland man, David Hearn, was indicted for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC on June 19, 2026. Hearn allegedly ripped a piece of the recently installed blue pool sealant on the bottom of the reflecting pool, an act that set back the recent renovations of the…
