BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- A Baton Rouge man was convicted of wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions for filing fake loan applications during the COVID-19 pandemic after a three-day trial.

Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis said Oscar Hills IV, 53, lied on applications for pandemic relief programs, claiming his businesses, called Bootstate Financial Group, had dozens of employees and high expenses. He also applied under the name of a nonprofit called Baton Rouge Teen Summit.

He received $835,00 in loans and spent the money on personal expenses, including $75,500 for a Dodge Viper and $23,272 to pay off years' worth of unpaid property taxes.

Hills was previously convicted of wire fraud in 2010 and served prison time, according to Travis.

With this new conv

See Full Page