Editors Note: This story has been updated with a statement of federal charges from the Middle District of Louisiana.
Former Southern University band director Nathan Haymer will plead guilty to a federal charge due to a plea deal he’s reached with federal prosecutors according to a WBRZ report.
As a formality, Hamer entered a not guilty plea before Magistrate Judge Richard Bourgeois on Tuesday. Another hearing will be scheduled once a plea agreement is finalized to which Haymer will change his plea to guilty.
According to the report, Haymer faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Haymer, 42, is facing a charge of federal program theft.
“From November 2016 through March of 2018, Haymer intentionally misapplied more than $30,000 that Southern University had provided to him to be used for official band expenses,” according to a Middle District of Louisiana release published on June 12. “On more than a dozen occasions, Haymer submitted false documents, such as fictitious and forged invoices from purported vendors, knowing that he had not incurred the expenses reflected on the documents.”
Haymer was named interim band director at Southern in June 2014.
His tenure as band director ended in May of 2018 when reports surfaced that he allegedly violated state ethics laws by requesting personal payments from organizations after band performances.
I wish they would leave this young man alone. He has suffered enough. He only followed what he knew to do to get funds quickly for his band. Monies are slowly allocated when the directors needed money for trips and lunches. If he is charged, go back in history to several directors of all campus organizations. You’ll see it was a steady practice.