(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
 
 

Shreveport, Louisiana . . . TYNA LARRY, 38, and ANTHONY LARRY, III, 38, a former officer with the Shreveport Police Department, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., United States Attorney Donald W. Washington announced.  TYNA LARRY was convicted of conspiracy, health care fraud, mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud.  ANTHONY LARRY was convicted of conspiracy.
 
TYNA LARRY was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ANTHONY LARRY was sentenced to 41 months in prison.  They were both also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $66,498.40.  The LARRYs were ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on January 6, 2006.
 
The LARRYs were involved in a scheme to defraud that extended from December 1999, until at least July 2003.  The scheme involved misrepresenting that TYNA LARRY suffered from an inoperable, malignant brain tumor, which caused individuals to make gifts or loans directly to the couple and to the “Tyna Larry Benefit Account” at a local bank. The court ordered restitution of over $54,000 to numerous individuals and organizations.
 
TYNA LARRY also made misrepresentations to the City of Shreveport Health Care Trust Fund involving thousands of dollars worth of false dental claims.   As a result of these claims, the fund paid in excess of $17,000 to the defendants.
 
The LARRYs caused their attorney to represent to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana that TYNA LARRY had a brain tumor and her condition had worsened.  Because of this misrepresentation, the couple was able to obtain an early discharge from bankruptcy.
 
Sentencing in federal court is determined by the discretion of federal judges and the governing statute.  United States Sentencing Guidelines established by the United States Congress and the United States Sentencing Commission are only used as guidelines by the judge in determining the appropriate sentence. Parole has been abolished in the federal system.
 
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Shreveport Resident Agency, with assistance from the Shreveport Police Department, the Shreveport Fire Department - Bureau of Fire Prevention, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Mignonne Griffing.
 
For further information, please contact United States Attorney Donald W. Washington at 337-262-6618 or First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Flanagan at 318-676-3600.
 
This and other press releases issued by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana can be found at our website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/law.

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