Former Louisiana College students accused of defrauding school of CARES Act funds

Two former Louisiana College students were indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of stealing other students’ identification numbers and information to defraud the private school of CARES Act relief funds.

Hayden Philip Breaux, 21, of Houma, and D’Quincy Marquis Jones, 23, of Baton Rouge, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and five counts of identity theft by a grand jury in Shreveport, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Alexander C. Van Hook said in a statement.

Breaux and Jones are accused of working with co-conspirators to use Louisiana College student identification numbers and passwords for nine students to apply for CARES Act emergency financial aid grants and “fraudulently obtain CARES Act funds for their own use” between June 5 and June 20. Once the grants were secured, they directed them to bank accounts belonging to Breaux, Jones and others associated with the scheme, the statement said.

Louisiana College is a private Baptist college in Pineville with a student population of about 1,200 students, according to the school’s website.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/crime_police/article_05d0fd32-8e74-11eb-a0fd-d3a100c25acd.html