Jefferson Parish Resident Sentenced to 70 Months Imprisonment for Fraud and Identity Theft Totaling Over $350,000

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On April 9, 2026, JELISSA LACOUR (“LACOUR”), age 37, a resident of Jefferson Parish, was sentenced by United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier for two counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

On April 7, the Department of Justice has created 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.

Judge Barbier sentenced LACOUR to 46 months imprisonment on the wire fraud counts and 24 consecutive months imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts for an aggregate prison term of 70 months. Judge Barbier ordered LACOUR to serve three years of supervised release following her imprisonment and to pay $342,032 in restitution.

According to court documents, LACOUR obtained numerous Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans using falsified tax forms, and also fraudulently obtained Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds in the names of numerous purported renters. In some instances, the PPP and ERAP applications were for her accomplices who sought to benefit from the fraudulent applications, while in other instances, LACOUR misused others’ identities to obtain payments in their names.  The combined total loss for the wire fraud and aggravated identity theft schemes was approximately $366,236.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon of the of the Public Integrity Unit.

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