Louisiana Woman Sentenced for Loan Investment Scam

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Ritchel Morehead, age 41, a resident of Covington, Louisiana, was sentenced on April 7, 2022 to 21 months in prison for committing wire fraud in connection with a fake investment scheme.

In a superseding bill of information, the government charged Morehead with wire fraud from December 2018 to February 2019. According to court documents, Morehead used a corporation, Chel Corporation, to defraud six victims by embezzling $460,000 that was supposed to cover fees, costs, and down payments for multi-million-dollar loans, but Morehead spent the funds on personal expenses such as jewelry and a vehicle, and transferred cash to accounts overseas.

Following Morehead’s arrest, two more people came forward as victims of the same scheme. Morehead pled guilty as charged in the superseding bill of information and agreed to pay at least $460,000 in restitution to the victims of her scheme, plus any additional victims, according to the terms of the plea agreement. The government has already seized $190,784.90 in cash and assets from Morehead, and Morehead has already paid over $310,000 in restitution in advance of sentencing, for a total of about $501,000.

Morehead was sentenced to 21 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee by the Honorable Eldon E. Fallon. Judge Fallon scheduled a restitution hearing for June 16, 2022, to determine Morehead’s final restitution amount and payment schedule.

The work of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service was lauded by U.S. Attorney Evans. The prosecution is overseen by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas D. Moses.