John F. Kelly, III of Metairie was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt on June 21, 2017 to 12 months and one day in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Kelly was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
Based on a joint investigation conducted by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, the Securities Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, Kelly pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on May 25, 2016. The Factual Basis accompanying Kelly’s guilty plea states that from 2010 through 2014, Kelly operated a tax sale investment business funded by investors. Through his guilty plea, Kelly admitted to defrauding his investors by diverting their investment funds for his personal use and benefit. Kelly further admitted that as part of the scheme to defraud, he used investor money to pay off personal loans and to purchase real estate properties in New Orleans that he titled in separate corporate entities he controlled, without the knowledge of the investors.