Haughton Woman Sentenced for Fraud

January 22, 1010 - Victoria Munson Oathes, 40, of Haughton, La., was sentenced to 45 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling $206,672.82 from Ark La Tex Farms, Inc., Acting United States Attorney William J. Flanagan announced today. The sentence was imposed today in U.S. District Court in Shreveport by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr.

Oathes plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. The FBI investigation revealed that over the three-year period that Oathes worked for Ark La Tex Farms, she obtained credit cards and monies from credit card accounts by intercepting credit card statements, forging signatures on checks that could be drawn off the credit card accounts, and even calling the credit card companies and changing the mailing addresses for the credit card statements to her residential mailing address.

Additionally, Oathes received food stamps and child care assistance from the Louisiana Office of Family Support by grossly under-representing her income and hours worked, and by forging signatures on employer wage verification forms.

The judge ordered restitution to Ark La Tex Farms, Inc., in the amount of $206,672.27, and restitution to the Louisiana Department of Social Services in the amount of $17,534.33.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support, Fraud and Recovery Section; and was prosecuted by AUSA Earl M. Campbell.