SHREVEPORT, La. (BRPROUD) – 21-year-old Hayden Philip Breaux, of Houma and 23-year-old D’Quincy Marquis Jones, of Baton Rouge are facing multiple counts of identity theft.
Breaux and Jones allegedly committed a fraud scheme while students at the Louisiana College in Pineville.
The allegations are spelled out in an indictment that explains how the alleged scheme was centered around the CARES Act.
According to the Western District of Louisiana, the two men “were involved in a fraudulent scheme to obtain emergency financial aid grants offered to colleges as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in March 2020.”
The indictment states that “as part of the CARES Act, funds were given to the Office of Postsecondary Education as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.”
Louisiana College was one of the colleges that received funding from the relief fund.
This is when Breaux and Jones enter the story, specifically on June 5, 2020.
“Breaux and Jones conspired to fraudulently obtain CARES Act funds for their own use,” according to the Western District of Louisiana.
The scheme spanned 15 days according to the indictment and details about how it was executed can be found here.
The two men are facing these charges:
- One count of conspiracy to commit identity theft
- Five counts of identity theft