64-Year-Old Louisiana Woman Charged with Theft of Over $194K in Government Funds 

New Orleans, Louisiana – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Dedra Bright ("Bright"), age 64, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged on February 2, 2023, by an indictment for Theft of Government Funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

Bright knowingly accessed and converted approximately $194,127.80 in Social Security Administration and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES ACT") funds from November 2008 to November 2020, according to the indictment.

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans reiterated that the indictment is only a charge and that the defendant's guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The United States Attorney's Office would also like to thank the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General for its assistance with this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Moses and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, are prosecuting this case.

The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to marshal the Department of Justice's resources in collaboration with agencies across government to strengthen efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force augments and incorporates existing coordination mechanisms, identifies resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and shares and harnesses information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts to strengthen efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors, and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud. Visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus for more information on the department's response to the pandemic.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can contact the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline or fill out the NCDF Web Complaint Form, which can be found at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.