Former Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet entered a guilty plea on March 31, 2026, in federal court in Lafayette, admitting to a single count of conspiracy for steering a state contract to a Lafayette company in exchange for a cut of the profits. The 78-year-old faces up to five years in federal prison when U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph sentences him on June 30, 2026.1KALB. Former LDWF Secretary Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme
What the Plea Covered
Montoucet pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the four other counts from his May 2025 indictment: three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.1KALB. Former LDWF Secretary Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme That dismissal matters. The original charges carried combined exposure of up to 20 years per wire fraud and money laundering count, with fines up to $1 million.2U.S. Department of Justice. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Indicted by Federal Grand Jury The single conspiracy count carries a maximum of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.3KADN. Ex-LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Bribery Conspiracy Charge
The Conduct He Admitted
The conspiracy ran from roughly May 2020 through June 2022 and involved three people. Montoucet, then LDWF secretary; Dusty Guidry, a commissioner on the LDWF Commission; and Leonard Franques, a Lafayette-area businessman who owned DGL1, LLC. They agreed to funnel a state contract for online hunter and boater education courses to Franques’s company, with the profits split three ways: one-third to Montoucet, with the remaining two-thirds divided between Guidry and Franques.4WWL-TV. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Pleads Guilty in Bribery Scheme
Between November 10, 2021, and June 10, 2022, the LDWF paid DGL1 $454,174.14 under the contract. Of that amount, $122,507.96 was Montoucet’s share of the kickback.2U.S. Department of Justice. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Indicted by Federal Grand Jury
To conceal the payments, the three men agreed that Franques would hold Montoucet’s share until he left state government, then pay it out as a “signing bonus” for ostensible consulting work.5IRS Criminal Investigation. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Take Illegal Kickbacks to Award Government Contracts Court records from a related case also alleged that Franques was to buy Montoucet a $14,000 all-terrain vehicle on his retirement.6Louisiana Illuminator. Wildlife Fisheries Secretary Resigns Following Reports Linking Him to Federal Probe
How the Contract Was Steered
On January 27, 2021, Montoucet caused the LDWF to award a no-bid contract to DGL1 for the online courses. The Louisiana Department of Administration’s Office of Special Procurement flagged concerns about the no-bid process, which forced the LDWF to open the contract to public bidding. Prosecutors alleged Montoucet then influenced the bidding to make sure DGL1 still won.5IRS Criminal Investigation. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Take Illegal Kickbacks to Award Government Contracts He signed the official contract with DGL1 on October 8, 2021. Reporting by The Times-Picayune/The Advocate noted that a competing bid would have generated higher returns for the state.7NOLA.com. Jack Montoucet Contracts Drew Red Flags Early, Documents Show
How the Case Reached the Plea
Montoucet’s case grew out of a broader FBI corruption investigation in Lafayette known as Operation Cajun Hustle, which the bureau said began after tipsters contacted the FBI and local law enforcement.5IRS Criminal Investigation. Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Take Illegal Kickbacks to Award Government Contracts The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation ran the investigation jointly, with prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana and the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section.
His role surfaced publicly in April 2023, when court records from co-conspirator Dusty Guidry’s plea deal described a “high-ranking LDWF official” who had taken bribes. Reporting quickly identified Montoucet, and he resigned as secretary on April 14, 2023.6Louisiana Illuminator. Wildlife Fisheries Secretary Resigns Following Reports Linking Him to Federal Probe A federal grand jury in Lafayette indicted him on May 21, 2025, on five counts. The case was assigned to Judge David C. Joseph as 6:25-cr-00134.8New Louisiana. Montoucet Scheduling Order The guilty plea followed on March 31, 2026.
What Sentencing on June 30 Could Look Like
The statutory ceiling is five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The sentences handed to his co-conspirators offer some context, though each defendant’s situation was different. Guidry, whom prosecutors described as the “hub” of the conspiracy and who said he took more than $800,000 in kickbacks across two overlapping schemes, cooperated extensively and received four years.9KATC. Dusty Guidry Sentenced to Four Years in Prison Franques, who agreed to cooperate immediately after a December 2021 FBI raid and wore a wire for the government, was sentenced to one year in federal prison along with more than $169,000 in fines and forfeitures.10KATC. Former LDWF Secretary Pleads Guilty in Bribery Scheme A fourth defendant tied to a related Lafayette scheme, former Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes, went to trial rather than plead and was sentenced in December 2025 to seven years and a $200,000 fine after a jury convicted him on six counts.11The Advocate. Gary Haynes Sentencing in Bribery Scheme