A former grants manager at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office has admitted he helped steer federal money into pockets it was never meant to line. On Monday, Kenneth Lawson pleaded guilty in federal court to charges tied to siphoning off grant funds intended for the sheriff’s office, acknowledging he worked with co-conspirator Areion Banks to divert payments into accounts they controlled. The guilty pleas followed an internal OPSO finance review and a federal probe into how the office handled a multi-million dollar Justice Department award.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
According to prosecutors, Lawson set up a shell company called Williams James Assoc. LLC, then asked the Justice Department to send $100,000 from a roughly $3.9 million grant into that account. Investigators say Banks followed up by contacting the financial institution and falsely claiming the sheriff’s office had signed off on the payment so it would clear. Those steps are described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Timeline and charges
Lawson worked in OPSO’s grants department from about August 2022 until late 2024. As the office’s internal review unfolded, local coverage documented his arrest on state charges in November 2024. That case eventually gave way to a federal criminal prosecution accusing Lawson and Banks of conspiring to steal, and to accept bribes, from a program that receives federal funds. Court records and local reporting traced that progression, as reported by FOX 8 Live.
Legal fallout and next steps
Under their guilty pleas, federal prosecutors say Lawson and Banks admitted conduct that violates federal statutes covering theft and bribery involving federal funds. Each now faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison, fines up to $250,000, a term of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment. The Justice Department Office of Inspector General and the FBI led the federal side of the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys are handling the prosecution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As reported by NOLA, Lawson and Banks admitted siphoning at least $45,000 from grant accounts, and a judge has set sentencing for May 13. U.S. Attorney David Courcelle and Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson both publicly thanked investigators and agency staff who helped unravel the scheme, according to the outlet.
