Feds Nab New Orleans Developer in $1 Million Government Fund Theft
A 30-year-old New Orleans resident and developer, Praveen Kailas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and theft of government funds in a U.S. District Court on August 1, 2013.
According to court records, Kailas’s company, Lago Construction, L.L.C., overbilled its construction monitoring subcontract for the Louisiana Road Home’s Small Rental Property Program (SRPP), which provides monetary assistance to property owners to repair their small-scale rental properties damaged by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita.
The program is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by the State of Louisiana Office of Community Development. Kailas’s theft of federal funds began from the inception of Lago Construction, L.L.C.’s subcontract in June 2011 and continued until November 16, 2012.
Kailas admitted in court documents that he and other stakeholders of Lago Construction, L.L.C., solicited monitors to work on their own projects, including a home they owned in New Orleans, and billed the SRPP contract for the hours worked. The monitors were not paid separately for the work they performed on other projects.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield prosecuted the case.
Kailas is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2013, and faces up to 5 years imprisonment on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years imprisonment on the theft of government funds count. The amount of restitution will be set by the Court.
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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