College students stole identities to pocket COVID financial aid in Louisiana, feds say
A pair of Louisiana College students pocketed thousands of dollars in emergency COVID-19 aid as the ringleaders of an elaborate identity theft scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Hayden Breaux, 21, and D’Quincy Marquis Jones, 23, are charged with several counts of identity theft after investigators say they used other students’ personal information to fraudulently obtain federal funds meant to help those struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced last week.
Louisiana College, a small and private Baptist institution in Pineville, was one of several colleges and universities across the U.S. granted emergency funding for its students as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Security (CARES) Act.
Court documents show that between June 5-20, 2020, Breaux and Jones applied for more than $5,600 in financial aid grants via the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
Prosecutors say the pair and their co-conspirators used the ID numbers and passwords of at least nine Louisiana College students to access an online portal, apply for the funds and have them directed to their own bank accounts.
“The co-conspirators would then use the funds for their own personal use,” according to an indictment.
Breaux and Jones each face a count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and five counts of identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
CARES ACT funding has been tied to a number of scams, the Department of Justice said in a news release. As of Friday, 474 people — trying to fraudulently obtain over $569 million — have been charged with in cases tied to COVID-19 funding.
“To anyone thinking of using the global pandemic as an opportunity to scam and steal from hardworking Americans, my advice is simple — don’t,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “No matter where you are or who you are, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
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