Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that KENNETH RICHMOND (“RICHMOND”), age 64, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty on May 9, 2025, to Counts 1 and 6 of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.
RICHMOND faces up to twenty (20) years in prison and up to three (3) years of supervised release as to Count 1. As to Count 6, he faces a mandatory consecutive prison sentence of two (2) years, followed by a term of supervised release for up to one (1) year. For each count, RICHMOND also faces payment of a fine of up to $250,000, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
According to court documents, in 2022, RICHMOND conspired with another person to use fake and stolen personal identifying information to make fraudulent vehicle purchases from a local car dealership. The vehicle purchases were financed through a financial institution, and several of the loans went into default. This fraud caused a loss of approximately $124,031.41 to the dealership. As part of this scheme, RICHMOND knowingly used a real person’s name, date of birth, and Social Security Number, without permission, to purchase a Dodge Challenger in July of 2022.
The Honorable Barry Ashe set RICHMOND’s sentencing for August 14, 2025.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of the United States Secret Service, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.
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