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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that KATIE LAROCHE, age 53, from New Orleans, was charged on April 19, 2022 with wire fraud, based on her embezzlement of $233,363.53 from a client.

The government filed a one-count bill of information that charged LAROCHE with wire fraud involving conduct from 2015 through 2021. According to the bill of information, LAROCHE was a financial manager who handled bookkeeping, accounting, and other financial services for her clients. From 2015 through 2021, LAROCHE embezzled funds from one of her clients. LAROCHE hid the embezzlements by falsely indicating that withdrawals and transfers out of the victim’s account were for tax payments, when in fact the money was deposited into LAROCHE’s personal account or used for LAROCHE’s own purposes.

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that a bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, LAROCHE faces up to twenty years in prison. LAROCHE also faces up to three years of supervised release after release from prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain to LAROCHE or the gross loss to any victims, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Moses and Jordan Ginsberg are in charge of the prosecution.