New Orleans Man Sentenced for Fraudulent Vehicle Purchase Scheme

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that KENNETH RICHMOND (“RICHMOND”), age 65, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on August 14, 2025, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

According to court documents, in 2022, RICHMOND, and his daughter Kendra Walker (“Walker”), conspired to use fake and stolen personal identifying information to make fraudulent vehicle purchases from a local car dealership. The vehicle purchases were financed through a bank, and several of the loans went into default. This fraud caused a loss of approximately $124,031.41 to the dealership. As part of this scheme, RICHMOND knowingly used a real person’s name, date of birth, and Social Security Number, without permission, to purchase a Dodge Challenger in July of 2022. 

The Honorable United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe sentenced RICHMOND to serve four (4) years of imprisonment, followed by three (3) years of supervised release. Judge Ashe also ordered that RICHMOND pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $58,852.00, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $200. 

At the time that RICHMOND committed this scheme, he was on federal supervised release for a prior fraud conviction.  On August 13, 2025, United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance revoked RICHMOND’s term of supervised release and sentenced him to two years in prison.  RICHMOND has been ordered to serve his two terms of imprisonment consecutively, for a total of six years.

The Honorable Barry W. Ashe set the sentencing for RICHMOND’s codefendant, Kendra Walker, for September 25, 2025.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of the United States Secret Service, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.

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