Bossier businessman pleads guilty to money laundering

Brian T. Owen52, of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to money laundering, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. presided over the hearing.

A statement of information was filed on September 30, 2024, charging Owen with one count of money laundering. The charge was the result of an investigation by federal and state law enforcement into the illegal activities of Owen, who was president of an oilfield consulting services company headquartered in Bossier City. On June 22, 2020, the Company filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

In January 2021, as part of the company’s bankruptcy reorganization plan, a distribution trust was created to repay creditors, and Owen signed a distribution trust agreement in his role as president of the company. Under this plan, if Owen received additional compensation from the company, he would have to pay 30% of it directly to the Distribution Trust.

In 2021, the company began applying for Employee Retention Credits (“ERCs”), which are a refundable tax credit for certain eligible businesses and tax-exempt organizations that employed employees and were impacted for the COVID-19 pandemic. Owen then devised a scheme to defraud the Distribution Trust by intercepting physical checks from the U.S. Treasury Department before they were deposited into the company’s checking accounts. Unbeknownst to the company’s other top executives, Owen had opened a bank account in the company’s name while it was still in bankruptcy. Under this program, he deposited a total of $3.8 million in ERC funds as additional compensation. Owen did not pay the Distribution Trust the 30% as he had agreed, but instead used the money for his own personal expenses, including paying off his gambling debts. In all, he defrauded the Distribution Trust in the amount of $1,157,154.39.

Owen faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Louisiana State Police and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth D. Reeg.