§944.  Deceptive certification of a small and emerging business; penalties

A.  The crime of deceptive certification of a small and emerging business is the act of any applicant who does any one or all of the following:

(1)  Fraudulently obtains or retains certification as a small and emerging business under R.S. 51:942 or any similar program conducted or funded by the state or a political subdivision thereof.

(2)  Willfully makes a false statement, whether by affidavit, report, or other representation, to an official or employee of the department with the intent to influence the certification or denial of certification of any business entity as a small and emerging business under R.S. 51:942 or any similar program conducted or funded by the state or a political subdivision thereof.

(3)  Fraudulently obtains money reserved for, allocated to, or available to a small and emerging business pursuant to R.S. 51:942 or any similar program conducted or funded by the state or a political subdivision thereof.

B.  Any employee of the department or any other public servant who, with the intent to defraud, knowingly commits any of the acts provided for in Subsection A of this Section or knowingly assists an applicant in committing any such acts shall be guilty of the crime of deceptive certification of a small and emerging business and shall be subject to any penalties or other court orders provided for in this Section.

C.  Whoever commits the crime of deceptive certification of a small and emerging business shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or both.

D.  In addition to any fine imposed under this Section the court, as a condition of any suspension of an order of imprisonment, shall require that the offender make restitution to the entity from which such money was obtained, in an amount equal to all or part of the amount of money that was obtained in violation of this Section.

Acts 2001, No. 9, §9, eff. July 1, 2001.