NEW ORLEANS — A former Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB) agent and NOPD reserve officer, Leessa Augustine, was sentenced to six months of house arrest and ordered to pay nearly $95,000 in restitution after admitting to multiple fraud schemes, federal prosecutors said.
Augustine, who served as a senior special agent with the S&WB from 2017 to 2021, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Authorities said Augustine used her S&WB-issued tablet to carry out scams while claiming to be on patrol in downtown New Orleans. She falsely reported security detail hours she did not work and submitted fake pay stubs, W-2s, and bank records to obtain an FHA loan, a soft second mortgage, and $5,000 in closing-cost assistance for a $215,000 property.
In a separate scheme, Augustine falsely claimed she lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic to collect unemployment benefits, despite being employed full-time by the S&WB. She also received approximately $5,600 in rental assistance in 2021 using a fabricated termination letter, lease, and fraudulent unemployment documentation.
As part of her plea deal, prosecutors dismissed one wire fraud count and two aggravated identity theft counts.
U.S. District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry ordered Augustine to repay:
$48,000 to the Louisiana Housing Corporation
$17,618 to the Fair Housing Administration
$13,754 to the Louisiana Workforce Commission
$10,000 to the Downtown Development District
$5,600 to the New Orleans Emergency Rental Assistance Program
Augustine faced up to 20 years in prison per wire fraud count before her plea agreement. Following home detention, she will serve five years of supervised release.
