Louisiana Landlord Arrested for $60K COVID Rental Assistance Fraud
BATON ROUGE, LA (KPEL) —The Louisiana Attorney General's Office has put another individual behind bars for fraudulent activity.
Quinton Mitchell, 42, is a landlord accused of collecting rental relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic using fraudulent information. Mitchell submitted multiple applications using false information between May 2021 and March 2022 to obtain Emergency Rental Assistance.
The sole purpose of ERAP is to help renters and landlords who were financially impacted by the effects of the pandemic.
Three Parish Fraud Scheme
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office reported potential fraudulent activity to the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations, and the following inconsistencies were discovered through their investigation:
- Tenants listed who did not apply for financial assistance
- Claimed renters who did not live at his properties
- Falsely noted owning multiple properties
- Inflated rent amounts submitted on applications
According to the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, Mitchell received over $60,000 in federal emergency relief funds for properties in multiple parishes, including Ascension, Livingston, and St. John.
Louisiana Bureau of Investigations officials arrested Mitchell on Tuesday, and he was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where he faces the following felony charges, Theft by Fraud over $25K, and Government Benefit Fraud.
There is no further information available regarding his bond; however, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office says that the investigation is ongoing.
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