NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On October 13, 2026, MARCEL GROSS (“GROSS”) , age 56, of Slidell, was sentenced on October 13, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion, to four years’ probation and the payment of $350,272 in restitution, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
GROSS fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which was a form of assistance authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such loans were forgivable and designed to enable businesses to meet payroll expenses. GROSS complied with a coconspirator’s instructions to pay the coconspirator 40 percent of the loan amount in the form of numerous checks that would be negotiated over multiple weeks so as not to “flag.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon of the Public Integrity Unit was in charge of the prosecution.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Eastern District of Louisiana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.