[StBernard] Chalmette man pleads guilty in Road Home fraud case linked to Hurricane Katrina

[Westley Annis]

Chalmette man pleads guilty in Road Home fraud case linked to Hurricane
Katrina
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  
First Posted: October 07, 2011 - 4:02 am
Last Updated: October 07, 2011 - 4:03 am

NEW ORLEANS - A 40-year-old Chalmette man has pleaded guilty to federal
charges of theft of government funds in a case involving Louisiana's Road
Home program.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten says Ivan Alfonso entered the plea Thursday before
U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk.

Letten's office says Alfonso applied for funds through the program declaring
that a home in Chalmette was his primary residence when Hurricane Katrina
struck in 2005. But, prosecutors said, at the time of the storm, Alfonso
actually lived in New Orleans.

As a result, Letten says Alfonso received $123,437 in Road Home funds to
which he was not entitled.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 12. Alfonso faces up to 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.