Federal authorities described Damian Raynard Raby as the “kingpin” of one of the largest fraud schemes in East Baton Rouge Parish during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He recruited a handful of accomplices and used them to launch fictitious businesses and open real bank accounts in their names. Raby submitted dozens of applications to the IRS for employee retention tax credits to aid those fake businesses.

In all, he sought more than $21.5 million through dozens of applications. He and his cohorts collected more than $2.6 million as part of the scam, which spanned from August 2022 to April 2023. As the mastermind who orchestrated the scheme, Raby kept about $1.5 million for himself.

Instead of using the funds to retain employees on his payroll, he diverted the money and used it to buy multip

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