Slidell Man Guilty for Making False Statements to Small Business Administration

NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DEAN MEILLEUR (“MEILLEUR”), age 57, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long on May 28, 2024, to making or using false writings or documents to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(3).

According to  court documents, MEILLEUR, submitted false writings and documents to the SBA to obtain Economic Impact Disaster Loans (“EIDL”).   In his EIDL applications, among other things, MEILLEUR falsely represented that he was the owner of a trucking business that was formed in 2017 and that he was eligible for EIDL funds.  As a result of these false submissions, MEILLEUR obtained $147,400 from SBA to which he was not entitled. 

MEILLEUR is to be sentenced on September 17, 2024, and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  After imprisonment, he faces up to three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.  MEILLEUR has also agreed to pay restitution to the SBA, which amount shall be determined and ordered by the court. 

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.

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

U.S. Attorney Evans commended the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit is in charge of the prosecution.