New Orleans Man Guilty of Cares Act Fraud and Money Laundering

NEW ORLEANS - Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that IRVIN C. FRANCOIS, III ("FRANCOIS"), age 54, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on September 23, 2025 before United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to making false statements and money laundering related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the CARES Act, which provided emergency assistance, administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), to small business owners affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. One of the primary sources of funding for small businesses was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

According to the charging documents, or about March 24, 2021, FRANCOIS, on behalf of a business that he owned, made false statements to an approved lender to obtain approximately $144,790 for a PPP loan. FRANCOIS then committed money laundering by using these ill-gotten funds to buy an automobile from a dealership in Kenner, Louisiana.

Sentencing is to be held on January 6, 2026. At that time, FRANCOIS faces up to five years in prison for the false statement charge and up to ten years in prison for the money laundering charge. The sentence for each charge also includes up to $250,000 in fines, up to three years of supervised release and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

For more information on the Department of Justice's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

This case was investigated by an agent assigned to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to serve the American public by promoting transparency and facilitating coordinated oversight of the federal government's COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC's 21 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending. The PRAC Fraud Task Force brings together agents from 15 Inspectors General to investigate fraud involving a variety of programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program. Task force agents who are detailed to the PRAC receive expanded authority to investigate pandemic fraud as well as tools and training to support their investigations.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General (a member of the PRAC) and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

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