A 29-year-old developer with close ties to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) plead guilty Tuesday to fraudulently over-billing a state Hurricane Katrina recovery program of up to $236,000, WWLTV Eyewitness News reported.
After an Eyewitness News investigation found inconsistencies in Lago Construction employee hours between June 6, 2011 to Nov. 16, 2012, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General launched a probe into Lago Construction, Praveen Kailas’ company:
The Kailas family, one of the metro area’s biggest landowners and developers. They have been close with Jindal through southeast Louisiana’s small Indian community for decades. The family has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Jindal’s campaigns over the years, including office space and supplies for his victory parties.
The governor’s office said it launched an internal investigation when we broke the story last year, but apparently dropped it after Mark Maier, the consultant who partnered with Lago on the rental program, wrote a note absolving Lago of any wrongdoing. The HUD IG, however, kept working the case and the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed charges under seal in late June.
