Janet Baquet, Social Security Benefits Theft, Louisiana 2006

$90,000 Scam: New Orleans Deputy’s Eight-Year Heist

ATLANTA – In a shocking display of corruption, Janet Baquet, a former Sheriff’s deputy in Orleans Parish, La., has pleaded guilty to charges that she stole nearly $90,000 in Social Security benefits from the federal government. Baquet’s scheme, which lasted for over eight years, ended abruptly when she finally faced the consequences of her actions.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Baquet’s father, a Social Security retirement benefits recipient, passed away in May 2006, followed by her mother’s death a month later. Despite her father’s demise, Baquet continued to collect his benefits, writing checks to herself from their joint bank account and forging her deceased mother’s signature on the checks.

As a deputy sheriff, Baquet was sworn to uphold the law, but instead, she deliberately and methodically broke it, costing the United States Treasury nearly $90,000. The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General is grateful for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in prosecuting those who seek to defraud the Social Security Administration’s benefit programs.

Janet Baquet, 56, of New Orleans, La., is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2015, for her role in the $89,379.13 heist. The case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, with Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane C. Schulman prosecuting the case.

The brazen nature of Baquet’s crime has left many in the community stunned, highlighting the importance of vigilance in preventing such incidents. As the investigation continues, one thing is clear: justice has finally caught up with the former deputy.

For more information, contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.

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