Three family members have now been sentenced to prison in a fraud case involving a federal nutrition assistance program.
Brian Paul Desormeaux, 64, and his daughters Amy Desormeaux Hernandez, 38, and Lenzi Desormeaux Babineaux, 35, all of Lafayette, all pleaded guilty in the case.
Hernandez was sentenced last year to one year and one day in prison. On Tuesday, Desormeaux and Babineaux were sentenced to prison as well. Desormeaux got the same sentence as her sister, and their father was sentenced to three years in prison.
Back in April 2025, we reported that a federal grand jury indicted a man and his two daughters on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, alleging they schemed to collect money meant to provide nutritious food to children and adults served by in-home daycares.
Babineaux, 35, will serve three years of supervised release following her sentence. She also must pay a $10,000 fine and $46,317.34 in restitution.
Court records aren't yet updated to include the supervised release, fines and restitution ordered for her sister and father, but we've reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for details. We'll update this story when we hear back.
The three all were indicted on one count conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count wire fraud, accused of defrauding the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a federal program.
Court records show that Desormeaux pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Hernandez pleaded guilty to wire fraud and Babineaux pleaded guilty to wire fraud. .
All three faced up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Here's the government's allegation of the scheme, according to the indictment:
Regional Nutrition Assistance, Inc. (“RNA”) was a Louisiana non-profit corporation located in Scott, Louisiana and was owned and operated by Brian Desormeaux. He served as Executive Director with his daughter Amy serving as Assistant Director and his daughter Lenzi acting as Senior Program Manager.
RNA was a “Sponsoring Organization” for the Program and was responsible for administering it in certain locations, including “Day Care Homes,” which are organized childcare programs for children enrolled in a private home. The Program authorizes assistance to states through grants-in-aid and other means to assist non-profit food service programs for children and adult participants in non-residential institutions that provide care. It is intended to provide aid to the participants and family or group day care homes to provide nutritious foods for the health and wellness of young children, older adults, and chronically impaired persons.
The indictment alleges that Amy Hernandez would manipulate information in the program's online portal to remove monitoring requirements by marking providers to "inactive" at the start of the month and back to "active" at the end of the money so financial claims could be submitted for reimbursement without any oversight.
The indictment also alleges that the three submitted false and fraudulent claims for reimbrusement, claiming that children were being fed at certain homes when they weren't. Some of the providers they claimed were feeding children were dead when the claims were submitted, the indictment alleges.
Also alleged is that Lenzi Babineaux submitted false and fraudulent state fire marshal inspections for these providers to meet compliance requirements for inclusion in the program - which was necessary to get reimbursement.
The total false and fraudulent claims that the indictment alleges is at least $400,000.
At the time of the indictment, federal officials told us the case was investigated by the FBI and the Louisiana State Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren L. Gardner. In today's release, officials said the FBI, Louisiana Office of Inspector General, and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and that it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren L. Nickel with assistance from Legal Assistant Christy Angelle.
Here are quotes from today's press release:
“The Desormeauxs’ shameful scheme stole food out of the mouths of Louisiana’s children to satisfy their own greed, and they’re now heading to federal prison as a result,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller. “Protecting Louisiana’s children from financial and other abuses is one of our Office’s core missions, and this case shows our commitment, alongside our federal and state partners, to investigate and prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The Desormeauxs stole half a million dollars of money that was allocated to help hungry children and adults in Louisiana, and we will not tolerate that criminal behavior," said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. "The FBI is committed to work with our state and federal partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to root out fraud in Louisiana and make sure those responsible are held to account.”
“The defendants exploited the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program intended to provide nutritious meals to children in need. They fraudulently claimed to administer the assistance at childcare programs and instead used it as a vehicle for personal financial gain. The USDA Office of Inspector General remains committed to protecting the integrity of USDA nutrition programs and safeguarding taxpayer dollars. We appreciate the strong partnership of our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in holding those who commit fraud accountable,” said USDA Inspector General John Walk.
