BATON ROUGE — A series of reports by the WBRZ Investigative Unit last year first exposed allegations against the woman responsible for processing traffic ticket payments in West Baton Rouge Parish. Now Mandy Miller is a convicted felon.

The U.S. Attorney's office announced Thursday that Miller pleaded guilty to a charge of "federal program theft." According to prosecutors, she stole $150,000 from an agency that also receives funding from the federal government, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

It's expected that the federal government will require Miller to make restitution to West Baton Rouge Parish taxpayers. Typically the offense can include a fine of up to $250,000, but because Miller stole so much she could be fined around $300,000.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Miller's prison term could be reduced. Prosecutors said she was entitled to credits in a pre-sentencing report for taking responsibility for her actions and not requiring the government to take the case against her to trial.

Miller appeared in court May 24; her guilty plea was announced Thursday in a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Baton Rouge. At the hearing, Chief District Judge Shelly D. Dick accepted the guilty plea but deferred acceptance of the plea agreement between Miller and prosecutors. A pre-sentence investigation report is pending.

Prosecutors said Miller's scheme began in 2018 and that, to make the operation work, she falsified journal entries.

As part of her job duties, Miller was responsible for receiving traffic ticket payments made in-person or by mail. Rather than put the money in the parish bank account, Miller would divert money for her own use and cover her tracks by logging into parish accounting systems with similar but slightly different names.

Prosecutors said that as "mandy" she would work in the ticket management system, but she would use "Mandy" with a capital M in the parish accounting system, the prosecutors said.

A bill of information filed previously said that in April 2022, Miller listed receiving $19,928 in cash but only deposited $9,984.

Edwards' office said a member of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, was among those who supported Cole's nomination. Cole is also among those who requested a Justice Department pattern-and-practice investigation of the State Police after the death of Ronald Greene. 

"Gov. Edwards was made aware of the EEOC's settlement with Don's last month and was assured by Sen. Boudreaux that he still supports the nomination," said a statement from spokeswoman Shauna Sanford in the governor's office.

Under the agreement reached in early 2022, Don's had to pay the worker $17,500 in back pay, plus pay him another $50,000 in damages.

A notice now posted at Don's under the EEOC's direction includes a statement that the company "has not admitted and does not admit that it engaged in any unlawful practices." The judge who agreed to the settlement declared that "this decree constitutes a judgment against Don's Specialty Meats Inc."

Cole added that Edwards was well aware of his past issues at his business, and that he even had a conversation with him.

"I did talk to him once about him, about letting him know that I had nothing to do with the EEOC," Cole said. "It happened in my business and has nothing to do with my character."

A lawyer who monitors State Police actions questioned Cole's appointment.

"This is either completely tone deaf or completely intentional," attorney Ron Haley said. "Either way, it's unacceptable for the community."

Haley has been on the front lines against injustice at Louisiana State Police. For years, he represented the family of Ronald Greene. Greene, a Black man, died in 2019 while in State Police custody. Initially, his family was told that Greene died in a crash. However, following a series of WBRZ Investigative Unit reports, it was revealed that evidence was hidden, phones were erased, and lies were told.

Louisiana State Police is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice to determine if the agency engaged in a pattern of disproportionately targeting minorities. That investigation is a top-to-bottom pattern-and-practice investigation into the agency.

For watchdogs and lawyers like Haley, this entire situation doesn't make sense.

"If you have someone who was successfully sued by the EEOC, for discriminating against Black people and you have State Police under a pattern-and-practice investigation for discriminating against Black people, it doesn't add up," Haley said.

Don's is among several butcher shops specializing in the production and sale of Cajun-style meats in areas around Lafayette. Its location in Scott is along heavily-traveled I-10, near other similar businesses that have made Scott the Boudin Capital of the World. Don's also has a store in Carencro along I-49.