EDGARD — A crooked contractor who defrauded numerous St. John the Baptist Parish residents following Hurricane Isaac was sentenced to six years behind bars this week, just more than four years after the devastating storm flooded thousands locally, authorities said.

“The victims in this case received extensive flooding and damage to their homes as a result of Hurricane Isaac,” District Attorney Bridget A. Dinvaut said in a release. “Like many other LaPlace-area residents, the victims sought the services of a contractor to repair their homes. (Ernest)  Blackwell preyed on these victims by falsifying his credentials and misapplying the victims’ money to other jobs.”

According to Dinvaut, the victims paid Ernest Blackwell, 48, more than $55,000 and were later forced to incur significant debt to pay other contractors to adequately repair their homes.

Judge J. Sterling Snowdy sentenced Ernest Blackwell Monday to five years in prison for misapplication of a payment by a contractor, six years in prison for engaging in the business of contracting without a license and six months in prison for home improvement fraud, a misdemeanor, with all sentences to run concurrently.

Snowdy also ordered Blackwell to pay $4,500 in fines and more than $40,000 in restitution to the victims.

The Court had previously sentenced Blackwell in September 2015; however, the district attorney’s office filed a multiple offender bill against Blackwell, charging him as a habitual offender based on a previous property crime conviction for burglary.

Assistant D.A. Justin Lacour prosecuted the case, assisted by Shelley Deville and Henri Dufresne.

Blackwell still faces charges for theft and contractor fraud in Jefferson Parish, Dinvaut said.