Thibodaux Resident Guilty of Aggravated Identity Theft, Providing False Statement to Firearms Dealer, and Federal Agency

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that BRETT GABRIEL (“GABRIEL”), age 31, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on March 26, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, to aggravated identity theft, providing a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm, and providing a false statement to an agency of the United States.  Sentencing is set for June 18, 2025.

According to court documents, GABRIEL used stolen identity information to purchase an Angstadt Arms UDP-9 firearm, and to obtain fraudulent paycheck protection program loan proceeds, administered by the federal government.

The maximum penalty for the firearm offense is ten years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.  The maximum penalty for the false statement offenses is five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.  The aggravated identity offense also carries a mandatory minimum term of two years imprisonment to run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Secret Service, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.