Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to take illegal kickbacks in awarding government contract

Date: July 1, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Lafayette, LA - On June 30, 2026, former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries ("LDWF") Jack Montoucet was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by soliciting and accepting kickbacks in return for awarding a state contract. Montoucet previously pled guilty on March 31, 2026.

According to court documents, Montoucet, while Secretary of the LDWF, steered an LDWF contract to a company called DGL1, LLC, in exchange for one-third of the profit, with the other two-thirds divided between Montoucet's two co-conspirators, Dusty Guidry and Leonard Franques. On Jan. 27, 2021, Montoucet caused LDWF to award a no-bid contract to DGL1 to provide online hunter and boater education courses. After the Louisiana Division of Administration, Office of Special Procurement raised concerns about the no-bid contract, the LDWF put out for public bids a contract to provide these educational classes. Montoucet used his position with LDWF to ensure DGL1 had a competitive advantage in the bidding process and DGL1 was awarded the contract.

On Oct. 8, 2021, Montoucet, acting as Secretary, signed a contract with DGL1 to provide the hunter and boater classes in the knowledge that he would receive kickbacks. A month later, Montoucet met with Franques and Guidry to discuss how to conceal the payouts, agreeing that Franques would hold Montoucet's portion until after he departed LDWF and pay it to him as a purported "signing bonus" for consulting work.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Myers P. Namie, Lauren L. Nickel, and LaDonte A. Murphy, along with Trial Attorney Alex Dempsey of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, with assistance from Legal Assistant Christy Angelle.

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.