Date: March 26, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
New Orleans, LA — Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that Mary B. Katicich of Marrero, La., was sentenced on March 25, 2025, for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and for making and subscribing a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).
According to court documents, Katicich used her position as bookkeeper for a Belle Chasse, Louisiana-based company, to fraudulently divert funds for her own benefit, from the company’s bank accounts. Katicich also purchased personal items using company funds. Further, Katicich willfully filed a tax return for tax year 2016, that she did not believe to be true and correct, because it failed to report approximately $120,190.58 of income.
United States District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced Katicich to one year and one day in prison to be followed by (3) three years of supervised release. Katicich was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $439,650.51 to the owner of the company and $28,612.45 to the Internal Revenue Service. Judge Morgan also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.