Lafayette Woman Sentenced For Defrauding Investors Out Of Two Million Bucks

The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced that a woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors out of little more than $2 million was sentenced to ten years in prison by a U.S. District judge this week.

U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley says the case centers around 53-year-old Catherine Doucet Romero of Lafayette.

Finley says that Romero had just been released from prison on a sentence for another scheme to defraud people, when she convinced multiple investors to give her their money between March 2007 and July 2009.

Romero told investors she was going to use the money to buy a manufacturing facility along with a tannery for a business that would deal with exotic skins like that of alligator and stingray.

Federal investigators say Romero took their $2 million and spent it on her own personal expenses along with expenses for another business unrelated to this scam.

The total amount stolen was $2,043.007.

Not only will Romero serve 10 years in prison, she was ordered to pay the entire amount back, and she will be under three years of supervised release after she completes her sentence.