New Orleans Businessman Charged With Covid-19 Relief Fraud

Summary

A U.S. Attorney's Office press release from New Orleans reporting that WELLINGTON BROWN, 53, of New Orleans was charged by bill of information on March 31, 2026 with providing a materially false statement to the Small Business Administration in an application for a COVID-19 small business loan. The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle states that the bill of information is merely a charge. The Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated.

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NEW ORLEANS – WELLINGTON BROWN (“BROWN”) age 53, of New Orleans, was charged by bill of information on March 31, 2026 with providing 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, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

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

U.S. Attorney Courcelle reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.

For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. 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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