Former Slidell Resident Pleads Guilty to False Statements and Theft of Over $350,000.00 in Covid-19 Benefits

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that RACQUEL PICHON (“PICHON”), age 40, formerly of Slidell, Louisiana, plead guilty on July 15, 2024 to false statements and theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1001 and 641.  If convicted, PICHON faces a maximum sentence of ten (10) years imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000.00, or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any person of the offense under Title 18, United States Code, Section 3571.  In addition, PICHON faces a term of supervised release of no more than three (3) years after her release from prison, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

According to court documents, PICHON applied for multiple Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) loans under the business Exotica Beauty LLC (“Exotica”).  PICHON was the registered agent for Exotica.  On June 12, 2020, PICHON completed a Small Business Administration (SBA) backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application for Exotica.  As a result of the PPP application, on June 19, 2020, PICHON received an SBA backed PPP loan of approximately $194,642.50.

 According to the indictment, on June 23, 2020, PICHON also completed and submitted an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loan application for Exotica.  As a result, on June 25, 2020, PICHON received an EIDL advance grant of $10,000.00.  Then, on June 29, 2020, PICHON received an EIDL loan of $149,900.00 as a business loan.

On or about July 2, through July 7, 2020, PICHON spent, in total, $8,074.00 in EIDL loan proceeds at a high-end retail store in New Orleans.  On July 15, 2020, PICHON spent $921.00 in EIDL loan proceeds for tickets to an amusement park in Florida.  PICHON also spent $3,303.00 in EIDL loan proceeds at an additional high-end retail store in New Orleans.

In total, PICHON received $354,542.50 in COVID-19 funds.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2024 before United States District Judge Susie Morgan.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, and the United States Secret Service in investigating this matter.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of Financial Crimes Unit.