(Citizens for a New Louisiana) — Americans distrust the government, and southerners, in particular, recoil at federal overreach. Yet, if not for the federal government, some wonder if corruption at the hands of political leaders in our state would ever get addressed at all. Join us as we explore the U-visa scheme and other recent instances where federal intervention has been the only path to accountability.

Three Local Law Enforcement Officials Arrested

At the beginning of the month, corruption by Louisiana elected officials was again the highlight of the news reel. On July 15, 2025, Federal law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, IRS, and ICE, with assistance from the Louisiana State Police, made a series of arrests of political figures. The odd involvement of the alphabet agencies was the first sign of what may have transpired. After all, the IRS is interested in money, and ICE is interested in immigration. So, it initially seemed that these arrests were likely the result of an age-old “protection racket” carried out by law enforcement officials. In it, officials accept bribes or extort money to protect illegal aliens. Our initial speculation was not far off the mark.

The next day, a sealed indictment was released detailing a multi-year conspiracy led by Chandrakant “Lala” Patel, who allegedly paid bribes to several Louisiana law enforcement officials—including police chiefs and a marshal. Patel, according to the indictment, is a local businessman who owns and operates G&G Superette in Glenmora, Louisiana, as well as a convenience store (EZ Shop) and a fast-food restaurant franchise in Oakdale, Louisiana.

On the receiving end of the bribes were allegedly Chad Doyle, the elected Chief of Police for the City of Oakdale; Glynn Dixon, the elected Chief of Police for the City of Forest Hill; Michael Slaney, the elected Marshal of the Ward 5 Marshal’s Office in the City of Oakdale and Tebo Onishea, the former elected Chief of Police for the City of Glenmora. The indictment also mentions another law enforcement official with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, only identified as W.H. It is alleged that on February 18, 2025 Patel “did corruptly give, offer, and agree to give a thing of value to W.H. intending to influence and reward W.H.” It is not known whether W.H. was caught or came forward leading to what we saw unfold. Regardless, the racket was exposed.

The Racket

According to the indictment, the racket operated as follows. Each law enforcement official named in the indictment was allegedly paid approximately $5,000 for each fake report and accompanying immigration certification (Form I-918B). These reports falsely claimed that an illegal alien was a victim of a qualifying crime, such as armed robbery. You see, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, foreign nationals become eligible to receive U nonimmigrant status (“U-Visa”) if they meet a five-prong test. The requirements include:

1. They are the victim of a qualifying crime.
2. They suffered abuse as a result of the crime.
3. They possess information regarding the crime.
4. They were helpful to law enforcement.
5. And they were admissible to the United States.

This is something the U.S. Congress concocted in 2020 with the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act.

The earliest such act of the alleged conspiracy occurred in November of 2022. That’s when Oakdale Chief of Police Chad Doyle allegedly created or caused to be created a false offense report (22-004433) listing “H. Patel” as a victim. It wouldn’t be until almost two years later that Doyle certified or caused to be certified the Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-918). The deposit of that form with FedEx to be delivered to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on May 8, 2024, would then allegedly constitute mail fraud by “Lala” Patel and/or Chief Doyle.

According to the information contained in the indictment, Michael Slaney would be the next participant in the racket. On March 25, 2023, and again on November 3, 2023. That is when Oakdale Marshal Slaney allegedly created or caused to be created false offense reports (00-32601) listing “J. Patel” as a victim and (23-00236) listing “N. Patel” as a victim. Slaney allegedly then certified or caused to be certified the Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status in September 2023 and January 2024, which were then mailed via the United States Postal Service to the USCIS Vermont Service Center. This allegedly constituted mail fraud by “Lala” Patel and/or Marshal Slaney. This same scenario would play out multiple times with each of the defendants.

Follow the Money

Of the alleged twenty-four false police reports that were filed, they all had one thing in common. The alleged victim of each crime was a “Patel.” The indictment also lists a series of monetary transactions involving property derived from alleged unlawful activities. Eight separate transactions involving “Lala” Patel are listed between February 2022 and October 2024, totaling $310,000. The transactions in 2024 alone account for $285,00.00 of that amount.

Several transactions involving government officials are also listed in the indictment. For instance, on November 21, 2024, Oakdale Chief of Police Chad Doyle purchased a 2024 Ford F-150 from Vaughn Ford-Lincoln, using $15,000 in U.S. currency. This transaction occurred not long after a series of reports taken by Doyle or his office, which list several alleged “Patel” victims. Such as offenses on September 4, 2024, (24-02738) involving “P. Patel”; October 20, 2024, (24-03176) involving “K. Patel”; November 1, 2024, (24-03287) involving “A. Patel”; and November 15, 2024, (24-03445) involving “N. Patel.”

On October 18, 2022, Forest Hill Chief of Police Glynn Dixon purchased a 2019 GMC Sierra Denali from Sewell Infinity of Fort Worth, using $15,000 in U.S. currency. While Marshal Michael Slaney purchased real estate in Deridder, Louisiana, in March of 2025 using a cashier’s check in the amount of $40,360. He then purchased a 2025 Cougar 29RLP Travel Trailer in April 2025, using a cashier’s check in the amount of $14,000. All of these transactions are allegedly related to the racket.

It Happens All Too Often

The events outlined in the indictment involving these elected officials are not much different than what we have witnessed occur in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The most recent scandal involving Dusty Guidry, Joseph Prejean, Leonard Franques, Jack Mountoucet, and others began in January of 2021. That same month, District Attorney Don Landry took office. In many respects, it appears to be a reestablishment of a type of racket that existed under former District Attorney Mike Harson, until federal agents raided his office and prosecuted several of the individuals involved. The remaining offenders were left to be prosecuted by then Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.

The racket seemed to cease for six years under the leadership of District Attorney Keith Stutes, only to resurface once the regime had changed and was under the direction of the new District Attorney, Don Landry.

Gary Haynes’ wife, Barna, was indicted and convicted during the Harson scandal, but Gary Haynes was untouched. This time around, Haynes has been indicted and is scheduled to go on trial in September of this year. Co-conspirators Guidry, Prejean, and Franques have all pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Mountoucet has pleaded not guilty and is presently awaiting trial in May of 2026.

Bribery and Abuse of Power

In both instances, public officials accepted bribes in return for misusing their official powers to generate fraudulent outcomes—whether by falsifying police reports to support illegitimate immigration benefits or by steering criminal defendants into pretrial diversion programs tied to vendors who paid kickbacks. These schemes were not isolated lapses in judgment; they were coordinated conspiracies involving multiple actors, structured payments, and systemic abuse of the public’s trust.

What unites these cases most clearly is the betrayal of government programs intended to serve vulnerable or reform-seeking populations. In the U-Visa fraud scheme, officials created false narratives of violent victimization to qualify non-resident aliens for humanitarian immigration relief. While in the District Attorney’s Scandal, pretrial diversion programs meant to promote rehabilitation and reduce incarceration were commodified into pay-to-play operations.

In both situations, the corrupt actors transformed legitimate public services into mechanisms for personal enrichment, manipulating processes and falsifying documents while concealing their actions under the guise of official legitimacy. This pattern underscores a broader public harm—not just financially, but in how it erodes trust in the institutions meant to uphold justice.

Louisiana May Be the Most Corrupt

We did it! We are at the top of another bad list! In a recent study published by the Cato Institute, the authors analyzed data on public corruption convictions across all 94 federal judicial districts, measuring convictions per 100,000 residents from 2004 to 2023. Washington, D.C., ranks highest, with a notably high annual conviction rate—driven in part by the concentration of federal employees and government spending opportunities. Louisiana’s Eastern was the highest-ranking state-level district with 430 convictions and an annual rate of approximately 1.29 per 100,000 residents.

The study was based on data recently published by the United States Department of Justice. These statistics pertain only to criminal matters prosecuted in federal court and do not account for public corruption cases prosecuted at the state level or those that don’t involve a violation of federal law. It is also important to note that the vast majority of violations, whether on the state or federal level, are likely never even prosecuted.

And if that doesn’t make you proud, the U.S.D.O.J. even shouted out to our homegrown District Attorney scandal. On page 20 of their annual Report to Congress on the Activities and Operation of the Public Integrity Section for 2023, the scandal made the highlight reel of state and local corruption occurring in the entire United States. It reads:

US v. Dustin Guidry, Western District of Louisiana

On March 23, 2023, Dusty Guidry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft.

During the conspiracy, Guidry was employed at a district attorney’s office in Western Louisiana and was an administrator in the office’s pre-trial diversion (PTD) program. The PTD program enabled defendants to expunge their criminal convictions if they met certain requirements, to include completing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) courses. In the scheme, vendors that provided CBT courses agreed to pay kickbacks to Guidry and another conspirator in the DA’s Office, in exchange for using their official positions to steer PTD program defendants to take the vendor’s courses.

There must be a proud momma somewhere out there.

Corruption Remains Louisiana’s Primary Industry

The kinds of public corruption we have witnessed in the U-Visa and District Attorney scandals typically arise from a combination of institutional vulnerabilities, lack of oversight/transparency, and individual opportunism within systems that operate with high discretion and low transparency. Programs like U-Visa certification and pretrial diversion rely heavily on the judgment and documentation of local officials—such as police chiefs, marshals, or district attorneys—who often operate without robust external checks. When those gatekeepers realize they can manipulate these systems without immediate consequence, and especially when they see others participating with impunity, a culture of misconduct can take root. It is the same misconduct we have witnessed and continue to witness concerning the ticket-fixing scheme in Youngsville.

These schemes often go undetected for extended periods because they involve fraud that appears procedural and legitimate on the surface. A fraudulent police report, diversion referral, or community service log may not raise immediate red flags if it is completed on official letterhead and follows expected administrative formats. Small jurisdictions may also lack internal auditing capabilities, making a systematic review unlikely unless a whistleblower comes forward or a related investigation uncovers inconsistencies. Corruption thrives in environments of weak accountability, particularly where personal relationships, political connections, or informal understandings protect wrongdoers from scrutiny.

When things do come to light, it’s rarely addressed by the state officials and offices we have. Whether it be our Attorney General or Legislative Auditor at the state level or our District Attorneys on the local level, investigations and prosecutions for public corruption in Louisiana rarely happen. That is, until they reach the level of a federal crime and agents of the federal government take action, who are often less connected to local politics.

A Silver Lining?

If there was one refreshing thing that has come from the recent U-visa scandal so far, it has been the action taken by Joe Green, the District Attorney for the 33rd Judicial District. Green took quick notice of the fallout that may occur when the heads of police agencies are involved in “authoring, facilitating, producing, and authenticating false police reports.” Green indicated: “The allegations compromise the reliability and credibility of police reports…” Green then said that his office WOULD NOT be accepting for prosecution cases from the Oakdale Police Department:

“Any case wherein Chad Doyle played any role in the case, including, but not limited to, giving direction, input and/or other actions wherein he would be a witness in the matter; any case based solely on non-emergency citizen complaints where the officer was not present at the scene or did not directly witness the incident; any case requiring follow-up investigation or evidence collection unless conducted the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office.”

It is pretty simple. Chad Doyle remains the Chief of Police for the City of Oakdale, and any investigative product produced by members of the organization under his direction or leadership is certain to be called into question. Hats off to District Attorney Green for recognizing the situation for what it is and taking appropriate steps to safeguard the integrity of the system. Thanks also to the federal agents who took notice of the scandals and acted appropriately.

If we are going to clean up Louisiana politics, we need your help. Most government agencies in our State are recipients of federal dollars and, as such, are clearly within that jurisdiction. Phone a friend! Phone a Fed! Phone someone and report corruption!