St. Tammany Parish Man Guilty of Conspiracy to Defraud Former Political Candidate and Four Other Louisiana Residents

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that JOSEPH HAROLD WEST, JR. ("WEST"), a resident of St. Tammany Parish, pled guilty on December 5, 2024 before United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

According to court documents, from as early as November 2020, and continuing through at least May 2024, WEST, and others, conspired to: defraud Candidate 1 with fake campaign services; defraud Victim 1 out of approximately $236,867 in fake real estate purchases and associated costs; defraud Victim 2 out of approximately $83,268.05 in fraudulent claims of real estate and title work; and defraud Victims 3 and 4 out of approximately $112,328.18 in connection with a fake legal defense scheme. Among other things, WEST and others utilized numerous fake aliases and occupations, "burner" numbers for text messages and calls, and fraudulent invoices, all in order to defraud their victims.

WEST faces up to five (5) years in prison, up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victim, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. WEST has agreed to pay restitution of approximately $446,302.23 to his victims.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney, Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit.