(The Center Square) — An audit report of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority found evidence of embezzlement using the authority’s name from its own checking account.
The contract audit by Cook & Morehart, an accounting firm based in Shreveport, examined the fiscal year ending December 2023. The report, done at the behest of Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack’s office, described the misappropriation of funds as a lone actor posing as the authority and presenting the local bank with two fraudulent checks hoping to withdraw money from the authority’s checking account.
The bank cashed the fake checks for $1,794.13 in early September 2023. The incident didn’t go unreported for long, as the authority’s internal controls detected the breach and reported it to the Bossier City Police Department. The perpetrator was arrested on Sept. 28.
Formal charges have been brought against Jared Heath Leggett, an individual that was never employed by the authority. The matter has not yet been adjudicated by the time of the report.The bank refunded the authority in full. Both entities responded to the audit with promises of better communication habits to ensure the incident isn’t repeated, including enrolling in an automated fraud detection system called positive pay. Other than the one incident, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found no other financial issues with the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority. The authority, according to its website, was created in 1978 by the Legislature as the governing body in the special taxing district in the original 120-square block area designated as the Downtown Development District.A seven-member board of directors oversees the agency and its operations such as capital improvements in the district are funded by an 8.64 mill property tax (one mill is one dollar per each $1,000 of assessed value). The entity also collaborates with the city on two tasks in the downtown area, the maintenance and patrol of the city’s parking meters along with street and sidewalk cleaning.
