U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Joseph West Jr., a resident of St. Tammany Parish, pled guilty this month before United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents, from as early as November 2020, and continuing through at least May 2024, West, and others, conspired to: defraud Candidate 1 with fake campaign services; defraud Victim 1 out of approximately $236,867 in fake real estate purchases and associated costs; defraud Victim 2 out of approximately $83,268 in fraudulent claims of real estate and title work; and defraud Victims 3 and 4 out of approximately $112,328 in connection with a fake legal defense scheme.
Among other things, West and others utilized numerous fake aliases and occupations, “burner” numbers for text messages and calls, and fraudulent invoices, all in order to defraud their victims.
West faces up to five (5) years in prison, up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victim. West has agreed to pay restitution of approximately $446,302 to his victims.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney, Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit.
