Description: Shreveport, Louisiana criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Jeffrey L. Peters, 55, of Shreveport, was indicted and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges that on or about January 6, 2020, and continuing through at least January 19, 2021, Peters and others knowingly conspired to defraud the City of Shreveport out of funds which were designated to pay Shreveport Police Department (SPD) officers. It is alleged that Peters claimed overtime for which he had not worked and received payments for unworked overtime under the Community-Based Crime Reduction Program (CBCR).

According to the indictment, Peters and a fellow SPD officer fraudulently obtained these monies by creating and submitting falsified Reports of Overtime to the SPD. These falsified reports stated that Peters had worked overtime hours for the SPD. Officer 1 would also submit falsified Reports of Overtime to the SPD which Peters would approve as his supervisor. As part of the scheme, Peters also created and submitted Activity Reports to the SPD which falsely claimed that Peters and Officer 1 were working assignments together in Shreveport’s Police District 3, which was located in downtown Shreveport and the surrounding area, which area included the SPD Headquarters. It is alleged that Peters himself submitted in excess of fifty (50) false reports of overtime.

The indictment further alleges that while Peters was claiming overtime in District 3, he was actually not working and was instead at various bars and restaurants in Shreveport and Bossier. These establishments were all located outside District 3.

The CBCR is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and seeks to reduce crime and improve community safety in distressed, high-crime neighborhoods. As part of the program, CBCR awards grants to local and tribal communities to be used for, among other things, overtime for police officers. Officers at SPD were entitled to collect 1.5 times their regular rate of pay under the CBCR.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, Peters faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg.

Outcome: An indictment is not proof of guilt.

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