Former Louisiana Lawmaker Shepherd Released to Halfway House

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A former Louisiana state senator who pleaded guilty to money laundering in a fraudulent security bond fraud case has been released from federal prison into a halfway house.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said Derrick Shepherd, 42, of Marrero, was released from a prison in Beaumont, Texas. Citing privacy concerns, federal authorities declined to say where he is now housed, the Times-Picayune reported.

Shepherd pleaded guilty in October 2008 and was sentenced to 37 months in prison for helping unlicensed bond broker Gwendolyn Moyo launder $141,000 from the sale of bogus bonds. He is expected to complete his sentence March 15, followed by three years of supervised release.

Edmond Ross, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons, said that generally inmates are released to halfway houses in the communities from which they originate if space is available in the privately-run facilities. There, they can seek jobs and re-establish ties with their families, Ross said.

It is unclear what Shepherd will do for employment. As part of his punishment, he was fined $45,000. Shepherd also was discharged from the Army Reserve, in which he was a lawyer. And the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board has recommended he be disbarred, a decision the state Supreme Court must make.

Ross said that often inmates are allowed to finish their sentence in home confinement which means Shepherd could be released from a halfway house into home incarceration before March 15.

Shepherd’s initial projected release date was September 2012, but Ross could not say why the date was moved up.

During his prison stint, Shepherd made attempts at gaining early release, including arguing in court filings he authored that his military service warranted a shorter sentence. He was a Navy Reserve corpsman who deployed with a Marine infantry unit to for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He later was commissioned an officer in the Army Reserve.

He also tried to have the conviction tossed by claiming his initial criminal defense attorney, Clarence Roby, acted under a conflict of interest because he, too, bore criminal liability in the case. Shepherd is appealing the conviction, records show.

Moyo, 56, was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. She is serving a 20-year sentence in Florida and her projected release is 2025.