Ex-Shreveport Cop sentenced for $13K Wire Fraud Scam

A former Shreveport Police Department officer has been sentenced to supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution for his role in a $13,084.74 wire fraud scam, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown.

Jeffrey L. Peters, 55, of Shreveport, was sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 3 years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud on January 12, 2024. Peters was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $13,084.74.

The wire fraud scheme occurred while Peters was employed as a Lieutenant with the Shreveport Police Department (SPD). Peters was allowed to work overtime on the Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Program, a grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that pays officers at 1.5 times their normal hourly rate for overtime worked.

Peters and fellow supervisor James Cisco devised a scheme to defraud the SPD by claiming overtime for hours they had not worked. The pair would each fill out and sign a Report of Overtime which stated they worked a specific time and date on the CBCR grant. Peters, in his role as Cisco’s supervisor, would certify that Cisco had actually worked the dates and times listed on the Report of Overtime.

Peters would also create and submit an SPD activity report which would falsely state that he and Cisco were doing patrols in District 3, an area around SPD Headquarters. On these reports, Peters and Cisco were the only officers listed. When in truth and in fact, neither Peters nor Cisco were working overtime for SPD.

Peters submitted false Reports of Overtime and Activity Reports on over 50 dates falsely claiming he worked overtime that he had not. He was paid for hours he did not work in his bi-weekly paychecks which were deposited into his own personal account. Peters received a total of $13,084.74 in overtime that he was not entitled to receive.

Cisco was also charged in connection with this case and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,681.29 and a fine in the amount of $2,500.

The case was investigated by the FBI, DOJ-Office of Inspector General, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth D. Reeg.