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NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DONMONICK MARTIN, age 30, of Chalmette, Louisiana, was sentenced on May 11, 2022 for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

According to court documents, MARTIN conspired to defraud commercial airlines through the submission of false claims for reimbursement for lost baggage.  In January 2021, MARTIN’s co-conspirator Pernell Jones, Jr. (“JONES”) took a flight to New Orleans under a fictitious identity.  Shortly thereafter, MARTIN went into Louis Armstrong International Airport, assumed the same fictitious identity, and falsely told American Airlines that his bag had been lost on the flight.  According to MARTIN’s plea documents, on four occasions, MARTIN agreed to accept fraudulent baggage reimbursement funds from airlines on JONES’ behalf to help JONES evade detection.  In November 2021, JONES pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.  JONES is set to be sentenced on May 19, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced MARTIN to three years of probation with two months of home detention.  MARTIN was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $13,466.89.  Judge Milazzo also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

U.S. Attorney Evans would like to acknowledge the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Dallas Police Department. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni.