NEW ORLEANS — A former New Orleans city councilman has been sentenced to six months in prison for plotting to misuse federal money intended to help a nonprofit organization after Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Lance Africk also on Thursday sentenced Jon Johnson to six months of home detention and ordered him to pay more than $79,000 in restitution to the federal government.
Johnson pleaded guilty in July to diverting funds from a nonprofit he controlled to his 2007 campaign for state Senate.
A court filing outlined more than $140,000 in grant money earmarked for the Ninth Ward Housing Development Corp. but didn’t specify exactly how much Johnson stole.
Johnson also pleaded guilty to submitting false documents to the Small Business Administration after receiving a loan for repairing storm damage to his home.