Almost $50,000 in COVID-19 relief funds were stolen electronically from the St. Helena Parish Police Jury in 2024, an audit says.

In May 2024, about $48,000 was stolen from the police jury's American Rescue Plan Act checking account via a fraudulent email, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

The ARPA, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package, was a 2021 measure used to fund post-pandemic recovery efforts throughout the country.

The police jury at that time received a phone call from a vendor who said a payment had not been received, causing the department to discover that a fraudulent email had previously been sent to the office requesting electronic transfer of funds, the audit said.

The discovery led to an investigation showing that the police jury's email accounts had

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