New Orleans Businessman Guilty Of Covid-19 Relief Fraud

NEW ORLEANS - WELLINGTON BROWN ("BROWN"), age 53, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on May 21, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Anna St. John, to providing a false statement to a federal agency, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. Sentencing is set for August 27, 2026.

According to court documents, BROWN provided a materially false statement to the Small Business Administration in an application to obtain a government sponsored loan designed to assist small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation revealed BROWN submitted several fraudulent SBA loan and loan forgiveness applications in 2021 and included false and fraudulent tax documents in support of these filings. The investigation confirmed that BROWN is responsible for a total loss of approximately $123,771.79.

The maximum penalty for false statements to a federal agency is five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney, Richard R. Pickens, II, of the financial crimes unit, is in charge of the prosecution.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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