NEW ORLEANS --
A former Harahan police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of obtaining property by fraud concerning programs receiving federal funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Carol Ney, 63, admitted that she falsely claimed she worked overtime hours on a federal grant program, fraudulently collecting more than $20,000 in payments.
Ney served as the city's victim assistance advocate in the police department. The overtime she claimed she worked took place during a week she was on vacation out of state and on another date when she sent another employee to attend a weekend event in her place.
Ney faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
"I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the FBI and Mr. Letten’s office in pursuing this case," Harahan Police Chief Mac Dickinson said in a statement. "This was not something I wanted to find as a newly elected Police Chief, but it required immediate attention, and they did just that."
As the WDSU I-Team reported last year, the federal probe was launched after Dickinson and newly elected Mayor Vinny Mosca did an internal audit of the department's books.
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