BATON ROUGE — A New Orleans man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges connected to a scheme to defraud the Louisiana Department of Education, federal court officials said Wednesday.

Demietriek Scott, 50, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges connected to a scheme to receive Louisiana Child Care Assistance Provider grant money from the Louisiana Department of Education.

The LaCAP money was intended to be spent during a Presidentially Declared Major Disaster or Emergency, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scott, alongside the previously convicted Romney Manuel, planned to steal manipulated spreadsheets and data systems utilized by the Louisiana Department of Education to steal $74,250 in federal funds between April 2020 and March 2021, a federal judge said. 

Both Scott and Manuel face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.