U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller Highlights a Dozen Significant Prosecutions During Government Shutdown

LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller announces that during the federal government shutdown, the United States Attorney’s Office continued its critical work making the community safer by charging and resolving many significant pending cases in the Western District of Louisiana. 

 “Our Office’s support staff and prosecutors remained committed to and focused on our mission to make this community safe alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners throughout the shutdown,” U.S. Attorney Keller said. “These dozen cases are just a sample of the impactful matters that our Office continues to prosecute, ranging from combatting child predators, to tackling violent crime, to prosecuting sophisticated frauds including bribery schemes and healthcare fraud. Our Office and partners will continue to stand firm and work tirelessly to make Louisiana a safer place to live, work, raise and family, and run a business.”

The following are a dozen select cases where defendants were charged or sentenced to prison during the federal government shutdown:

• Boris Braggs, 43, an elementary school teacher and pastor in the Monroe area, was indicted for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct on October 15, 2025. The indictment is based on allegations that on September 24, 2025, Braggs communicated online with an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a 15-year-old girl to have sex in exchange for money.  Braggs agreed to meet the 15-year-old girl at a local hotel in Monroe, Louisiana.   Upon his arrival, Braggs was arrested and placed into custody pending further proceedings, and he is currently detained pending trial. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Louisiana State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell.
• Willie Lee Baker, 45, of Shreveport, was indicted for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl, with both resulting in death or serious bodily injury.  The case is being investigated by the FBI, Shreveport Police Department and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.
• Brandon Jermaine Francisco, 39, pled guilty on November 13, 2025, to committing a carjacking resulting in death with Francisco stipulating to a binding and mandatory sentence of life in prison. While pleading guilty, Francisco admitted to carjacking an Uber and Lyft driver who was also a mother of two minor children in 2022. Francisco further admitted that while carjacking and killing the victim, he shot her several times and then disposed of her body before fleeing with the vehicle. The sentencing is currently set for January 27, 2026. This case was investigated by the FBI, Louisiana State Police, St. Joseph’s Police Department, Bedford Police Department, and Scott Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John W. Nickel and Casey N. Stelly.
• Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub Al-Muhtadi, 33, a Gazan native residing in Lafayette at the time of his arrest, was arrested and indicted for his alleged involvement in the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.  As described in the Department’s press release, this matter was investigated as part of the Department’s Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7), and involved many federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies investing significant resources to prosecute. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel for the Western District of Louisiana is prosecuting the case alongside Trial Attorneys A.J. Dixon, Andrew Sigler and JTF 10-7 Lead Attorney Alicia Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• In October 2025, three defendants were sentenced for their role in a Lafayette-area bribery scheme involving the 15^th Judicial District Attorney’s Office’s Pretrial Intervention Program. Dusty Guidry, 53, of Youngsville, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, Leonard Franques, 64, of Scott, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, and Joseph Prejean, 58, of Church Point, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine. The fourth defendant, Gary Haynes, who was convicted at trial in September, is scheduled to be sentenced December 17, 2025. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS - Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and John W. Nickel, as well as Steven Loew of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
• Charlie L. Simpson, 52, and Charles D. Gardner, 58, who were previously convicted at trial for conspiring to commit bank fraud, were sentenced to 10 years and four years respectively on October 2, 2025. Simpson and Gardner used their positions as executives at United Care and Trinity Home Health to perpetrate a check-kiting scheme to disguise deficits in their companies, resulting in a $3.3 million loss to a victim bank. The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison L. Duncan.
• Thomas Dewayne Dew, 47, of Many, was sentenced to life in prison October 22, 2025, for conspiring with six other defendants to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Dew was found to be selling methamphetamine in large quantities in the Sabine Parish area and supplying the narcotic to other drug dealers in the parish. The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Moody.
• Michael L. Riggins, 62, of West Monroe, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay roughly $1.8 million in restitution on October 27, 2025. Riggins had previously pled guilty to committing health care fraud in connection with a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme. From 2018 to 2023, Riggins paid for doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary DME and tricked doctors into signing DME orders and certificates of medical necessity to bill for it. Despite receiving hundreds of complaints from victims about fraudulent orders, Riggins submitted over $3.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and was reimbursed over $1.8 million. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Samantha Usher and Kelly Z. Walters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin McCoy.
• Damario M. Lyons, 36, was sentenced to 324 months in prison on October 27, 2025, after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Lyons was supplying large amounts of various narcotics, including more than ten kilograms of methamphetamine, throughout the Southwest Louisiana area. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Jefferson Davis Sheriff’s Office and Jennings Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen.
• Lenzi Desormeaux Babineaux, 35, of Rayne, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on November 6, 2025, after pleading guilty to wire fraud in connection with a federal program fraud scheme she was involved in with her father and sister. Babineaux served as Senior Program Manager for Regional Nutrition Assistance, Inc. (RNA), a Sponsoring Organization for the Child and Adult Food Program which is a federal program operated by USDA and administered by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). RNA would submit provider claims monthly to LDOE for payment and disburse payments to providers. Babineaux submitted fraudulent claims and received payment for them. Babineaux’s father, Brian Desormeaux, 64, and Babineaux’s sister, Amy Desormeaux Hernandez, 38, have both pled guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2026. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Louisiana State Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren L. Nickel.
• Christopher Culton, 43, of Deridder, was sentenced to 135 months in prison on November 6, 2025, after previously pleading guilty to possessing child pornography. In 2024, law enforcement received a tip that Culton, who had a prior federal conviction for possessing child pornography, was maintaining a social media account was being used to distribute child pornography. A forensic exam of Culton’s cell phones confirmed prepubescent child pornography to be on both phones, which led to the charges here. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker.
• Clarence Reginald Colar, 52, of Lake Charles, was sentenced to 120 months in prison on October 23, 2025, for possessing child pornography. Colar was serving his term of federal supervised release for a previous conviction for possession of child pornography when his probation officer made an unannounced home visit and found that Colar had an unauthorized Samsung tablet in his possession that contained child pornography. This case was investigated by HSI and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.gov or  at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer.

CONTACT:  Public Affairs                                                  USALAW-News@usdoj.gov

United States Attorney’s Office                                         www.justice.gov/usao-wdla

Western District of Louisiana                                            Twitter @USAO_WDLA

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