USDA Employee Sentenced In Loan Fraud Case

MONROE, La. (AP) — A 51-year-old Winnsboro woman has been given 40 months in prison for lying on loan applications to get money to hide the theft of $640,000 from a federally funded nonprofit.

Donna Jean Remides pleaded guilty to the charge in June. U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley says Remides was sentenced Friday. Remides also was ordered to serve five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say Remides worked as a project coordinator by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She was assigned to the Northeast Delta Resource Conservation and Development Council in Winnsboro.

Prosecutors say from January 2001 to December 2010, Remides used her employer's accounts to pay herself thousands without authorization. They say she also obtained loans in the name of the council to cover the thefts.