New Orleans man guilty of false statements, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, possessing a stolen vehicle and wire fraud

New Orleans - Hardell Mack ("Mack") of New Orleans pleaded guilty on March 25, 2026, before United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to a four-count indictment charging him with making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), conspiring to commit mail fraud, money laundering, and possessing a stolen vehicle. Additionally, Mack plead guilty to wire fraud, a matter transferred from the Middle District of Louisiana, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

According to court records, in Count One, Mack fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP") loan, which was authorized during the pandemic by the CARES Act, by making a false statement on or about July 24, 2020. This resulted in a loan in the amount of $20,284. He also obtained three other fraudulent PPP loans resulting in a total loss to the Small Business Administration of $79,356. Count Two alleged that Mack also conspired to file false tax records by interstate mail in order to obtain an Employee Retention Credit from the Internal Revenue Service, that was funded by the U.S. Treasury. This resulted in a loss to the government of $625,310. Using the funds from the mail fraud, Mack committed money laundering as alleged in Count Three by sending over $10,000 to an investment company in Florida. In Count Four, Mack also pleaded guilty to possessing a McLaren automobile that was stolen from Connecticut.

Concerning the Middle District matter, Mack pleaded guilty to Count Two of the indictment, charging him with wire fraud for defrauding an investor in a concert promotion scheme.

Sentencing will occur on June 24, 2026. Mack faces up to five (5) years imprisonment for Counts One and Two, and up to ten (10) years imprisonment for Counts Three and Four in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Mack may receive up to twenty (20) years of imprisonment for his plea to Count Two in the Middle District of Louisiana matter. All the counts include up to $250,000 in fines or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any person, and up to three years of supervised release along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count due after conviction.

This case was investigated by an agent assigned to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to serve the American public by promoting transparency and facilitating coordinated oversight of the federal government's COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC's 21 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending. The PRAC Fraud Task Force brings together agents from 15 Inspectors General to investigate fraud involving a variety of programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program. Task force agents who are detailed to the PRAC receive expanded authority to investigate pandemic fraud as well as tools and training to support their investigations.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General (a member of the PRAC), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera from the Eastern District of Louisiana and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth White from the Middle District of Louisiana are in charge of the prosecution.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.