NEW ORLEANS – Dent Hunter, 46, of New Orleans, will spend the next five years on probation after being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion on July 8, 2025. Hunter pleaded guilty to both making false statements and money laundering, charges stemming from a brazen scheme to steal funds allocated through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, was designed to provide a lifeline to small businesses reeling from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds were distributed primarily through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program. Hunter, however, saw the crisis as an opportunity for personal enrichment.
According to court documents, Hunter, on or about April 6, 2020, submitted false information to an approved lender in order to secure a $122,100 PPP loan for a business under his control. He didn’t stop there. On or about July 22, 2020, Hunter pilfered another $149,900 from the SBA using an application fraudulently submitted in the name of NexLevel ONE Realty. The stolen funds weren’t used to support a struggling business; instead, Hunter used the money to purchase two motor vehicles – gifts for family members, according to investigators.
The feds weren’t fooled. The investigation, spearheaded by agents assigned to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force, quickly uncovered Hunter’s scheme. The PRAC, a multi-agency effort involving 21 Inspectors General, is tasked with overseeing the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending and rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse. This case highlights the PRAC’s effectiveness in tracking down those who attempted to exploit the pandemic for personal gain.
In addition to the five-year probationary sentence, Judge Papillion ordered Hunter to pay over $1 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration. He was also slapped with a $200 mandatory special assessment fee and sentenced to 400 hours of community service. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson praised the collaborative work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation in bringing Hunter to justice.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit handled the prosecution. Anyone with information about potential COVID-19 fraud is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. More information on the Department of Justice’s pandemic response can be found at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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