A Thibodaux man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including aggravated identity theft and providing false information to a firearms dealer and a federal agency. Brett Gabriel, 32, not only used another person’s identity to purchase a firearm but also attempted to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said Gabriel got a 27-month stretch on November 19, which U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo laid down; he's set for three years under the watchful eye of the law post-release. He's also staring down the barrel of a mandatory $300 special assessment fee. The feds threw out big ups to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Secret Service, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office for their detective work on Gabriel's case.
This case is tied to Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a heavy hitter launched as the Department's answer to violent crime and gun violence. It aims to bring law enforcement and communities shoulder to shoulder to make neighborhoods coast to coast a safer place. Since May 26, 2021, they've been doubling down on their core principles, which include stoking trust and legitimacy among the folks, boosting community organizations that work up front to stop violence, and locking in on strategic enforcement priorities, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
For more nitty-gritty details on PSN, the Department is open for business at Justice.gov/PSN. As for Gabriel, Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II, from the Financial Crimes Unit, is the point man on prosecuting his case.
