The former director of aviation at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for his role in a Hurricane Katrina insurance fraud case.
Sean Hunter and his wife, Shauna Crowden Hunter, were charged in federal court with conspiring to profit from a bogus insurance claim after the 2005 storm. Shauna Hunter falsely reported to her insurance company that her new BMW had been destroyed in the storm and received a check from the company for $3,442, according to the indictment.
In 2008, however, New Orleans traffic cameras took pictures of the BMW running red lights. Several months later, law enforcement officers found the BMW hidden in a parking garage at the airport.
Earlier, according to the indictment, Sean Hunter had instructed an airport employee to issue him a vehicle inspection sticker for the BMW at the airport’s expense. He also allegedly told the airport parking garage’s general manager not to tow the BMW from the garage.
Arthur Lemann, Hunter’s attorney, said his client tried to protect his wife after he learned of the false insurance claim.
“This is not exactly a Bonnie and Clyde situation,” he said.
Lemann, who also represents Shauna Hunter, said she will plead guilty in a related mail fraud case in Houston later this month.
Sean Hunter, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice. Other charges against him, including lying to the FBI, will be dismissed under a plea agreement.
Hunter, who resigned from his position at the airport in 2009, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. is scheduled to sentence him on May 11.
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