A Slidell man is facing embezzlement, forgery, and fraud charges in connection with a scheme that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says defrauded a clay mining company and its clients of more than $2.5 million over a four-year period.
State authorities arrested John Ohle at a Metairie home on Thursday and booked him into the Orleans Parish Jail after the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
According to Murrill, the scheme took place between January 2020 and February 2024.
Investigators say Ohle, who was a contracted consultant for the mining company, diverted revenues from the clay mining company to personal accounts, misrepresented himself as the company's executive officer to forge a trucking agreement, and used a subsidiary company that he owned to deceive the company's clients.
Investigators add that Ohle sold the company's equipment without authorization and put the proceeds in an associate’s bank account to hide the sales.
According to Murrill, investigators also learned that Ohle is a disbarred attorney and certified public accountant who has previous convictions for federal tax evasion and embezzlement in New York.
Ohle's bond has not been set.
