Former Shreveport Policeman, Wife Indicted in Scam

Tyna Larry, 37, and Anthony Larry, III, 37, a former officer with the Shreveport Police Department, were both indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to misrepresenting Tyna Larry’s medical condition and the entire family’s dental health in order to obtain benefits from a health care program and donations from individuals, United States Attorney Donald Washington announced.

The grand jury returned a 29 count indictment charging 1 count of conspiracy, 10 counts of mail fraud, 17 counts of health care fraud and 1 count of witness tampering. The defendants currently reside in the Dallas, Texas area.

The indictment charges a scheme to defraud that extended from December 1999, until at least July 2003, when the couple left the area. The scheme reportedly involved misrepresenting that Tyna Larry suffered from an inoperable, malignant brain tumor, which caused individuals to make gifts or loans to the “Tyna Larry Benefit Account” at a local bank. The indictment alleges that in excess of $11,000 was transferred to the defendants’ personal checking account from this fund.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants made misrepresentations to the City of Shreveport Health Care Trust Fund involving thousands of dollars worth of false dental claims. As a result of these claims, the fund paid in excess of $16,000 to the defendants.

Finally, the indictment alleges that Tyna Larry engaged in witness tampering by advising a potential witness that an FBI agent investigating this case was not really an agent but instead was the mother of a boy who had assaulted Tyna Larry’s daughter and that potential witnesses should not give the agent any information.

If convicted, the defendants each face a penalty of not more than 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on each fraud count, and not more than 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the conspiracy count.