[StBernard] Feds charge Covington man with conspiracy for helicopter charges to BP after spill

[Westley Annis]

Feds charge Covington man with conspiracy for helicopter charges to BP after
spill
 By John Simerman, NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune 
on November 01, 2012 at 7:25 PM, updated November 02, 2012 at 6:11 AM Email

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Federal prosecutors charged a Covington businessman with a count of
conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Thursday, accusing him of fabricating
documents to grossly overbill BP for a helicopter and helipads used to help
the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office do recovery work after the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in April 2010. Bay Ingram, 50, is charged with acting as a
middleman in the deals through a company, Southeast Recovery Group.

According to the feds, Ingram maneuvered his way into a helicopter
procurement deal by falsely claiming to one BP official that another one had
approved it, the federal bill of information says.

Then-Sheriff Jack Stephens had asked BP to pay for a helicopter to help the
sheriff's office and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries do
emergency work in the parish following the Macondo blowout.

BP initially paid Ingram $113,000 for the first few weeks of invoices, and
in turn he paid Rotorcraft Leasing Company $52,000 for the helicopter hours.

According to the 10-page bill of information filed Thursday, Ingram never
received proper approval for use of the helicopter after June 15, 2010.

Still, he invoiced BP more than $1.4 million over nearly six months and
"desperately sought payment" -- enlisting Stephens to write the oil giant a
letter with 23 invoices attached, according to a civil lawsuit that
Southeast Recovery Group filed against the company.

It turns out Ingram "falsified and forged dozens of pages of documents
provided to BP," including a contract with a forged signature, federal
prosecutors allege. Ingram also is accused of falsifying flight logs,
listing flights that were never taken and bloating the number of oil
spill-related flights.

The helicopter, dubbed "Sheriff One," was stationed at a BP operating base
in Hopedale. That's also where Ingram sought to have several helipads built,
hiring subcontractors for the work.

In summer of 2010, he paid subcontractors a little more than $110,000 for
the helipad construction, then billed BP $254,000. Ingram also added a 20
percent markup, for a total bill of more than $300,000, the feds allege.

BP paid his company for the helipad work.

But BP soon stopped paying for the helicopter use, and eventually Rotorcraft
Leasing Company and other unpaid subcontractors got edgy. They sought
documentation from Ingram that BP intended to pay him.

At that point, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office, Ingram
created false e-mails, including some from a fictional executive for a BP
subcontractor. He named him "Jerry Aldini."

The feds claim BP never agreed to pay -- and that Ingram falsely claimed to
a BP official in Hopedale that he had approval for the helicopter
procurement. The charge also claims Ingram tried to invoice the company at a
more than 100 percent profit.

Letten's office filed the charge in a bill of information, which nearly
always means the defendant has reached a plea deal.

Stephens declined to comment on the charge, saying only that he has
"cooperated completely" with the investigation and that he had a "friend and
business relationship" with Ingram.

Stephens was the longest-serving sheriff in Louisiana when he retired this
summer after 28 years.

Ingram continues to owe Rotorcraft Leasing Company $314,000 for helicopter
payments, said the company's attorney, Frank Neuner.

"He was taking invoices from our client and doubling up the hours and the
rates to charge to BP," Neuner said.

Ingram's attorney could not be reached late Thursday.

Ingram owns several retail and commercial businesses in Covington and
Slidell.

A major contributor to Gov. Bobby Jindal's campaign, he was appointed by
Jindal to the state Mineral Board in March 2008.

Then, he was listed as being the president of Healthcare Holdings of
Louisiana and Ingram Investments.

In 2006, Ingram was caught up in a controversy involving the sale of a
former golf practice facility along Interstate 12 near Slidell to Sheriff
Jack Strain's office.

A partnership formed by Ingram and Don McMath -- both contributors to
Strain's campaign -- bought the property for $2 million, then sold it to the
sheriff for $2.4 million a few hours later.

Strain defended the move as a good value for the money.