Police Officer in Louisiana Indicted for Wire Fraud, Faces up to 20 Years if Convicted
Police Officer in Louisiana Indicted for Wire Fraud, Faces up to 20 Years if Convicted
Shreveport, Louisiana – On August 24, 2022, United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that a Shreveport Police Department (SPD) officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictment charges James Cisco, 51, of Shreveport, Louisiana, with six counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Cisco willfully contrived a conspiracy to defraud the City of Shreveport out of funds intended for overtime compensation to SPD officers beginning on or about January 6, 2020, and continuing until at least January 19, 2021. Cisco is accused of claiming overtime for which he did not work and receiving paid for unworked overtime.
According to the indictment, Cisco submitted bogus reports to the SPD claiming that he worked overtime hours for the SPD on the Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Grant and confirmed that he did. The indictment further alleges that on three of the times Cisco made bogus reports, the SPD mobile device allocated to him was in the East Texas area during the same period he claimed to be working overtime for the SPD in Shreveport. The indictment also claims that Cisco made false reports claiming to have worked overtime five other times, and records reveal that he was working an off-duty position for another employer at the same time.
The Department of Justice administers the Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Program, which aims to reduce crime and improve community safety in high-crime neighborhoods. As part of the program, CBCR provides grants to local and tribal governments to be utilized for police officer overtime. The City of Shreveport earned a CBCR award grant in 2020, which was used to pay for officers with the SPD to work overtime details, and officers were paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for overtime hours completed.
An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Cisco faces a possible term of 20 years in jail, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General are conducting an ongoing investigation, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg.
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