FBI Public Integrity Unit: Dean Meilleur, 57, of Slidell Accused of Defrauding U.S. Small Business Administration
By JOSH MITCHELL
Editor
River Mississippi News
A Slidell, Louisiana man stands accused and formally charged with stealing $147,000 from the Small Business Administration through a federal economic development program aimed at helping communities recover from disasters, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation news release issued this week.
Dean Meilleur, 57, was officially charged March 13 for allegedly “making or using false writings” in connection to documents he’s accused of criminally filing with the United States Small Business Administration.”
According to the FBI’s news release, this would be a violation within Title 18 of the U.S. Code. More specifically, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans said Meilleur secured Economic Impact Disaster Loans as part of an overall scheme that included fraudulent “writings and documents” being filed with the SBA.
Meilleur, authorities say, lied on applications he submitted to the federal loan program by stating that “he was the owner of a trucking business formed in 2017 and that he was eligible for EIDL funds.”
These allegedly intentional falsehoods, the FBI says, resulted in Meilleur netting almost $150,000 from the federal government’s longstanding small business loan program.
Meilleur could spend up to five years in prison if convicted, followed by three years of his life still being closely monitored by court and law enforcement authorities upon being released from any imprisonment. Additionally, he could be charged a $100 “mandatory special assessment fee,” the release adds.
The Department of Justice runs a hotline for everyday citizens to report suspected Covid-19 fraud. It is called the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline and can be reached at 866-720-5721.
Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation admirably investigated this case, said Evans. The FBI’s Public Integrity Unit oversees cases such as these.
