PORT ALLEN — The trial for twin brothers Robert McCormick and Thomas McCormick has finally come to an end, with Judge Alvin Batiste, with the 18th JDC, delivering his verdict the evening of Dec. 12. The judge found the brothers guilty of more than 300 felony counts, including money laundering and prohibited splitting of profits.
Both brothers testified in their own case. At one point, Tom’s lawyer Cameron Mary asked for a mistrial, due to the State’s use of impeachment of Tom. Judge Batiste denied the motion.
The trial started Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 12, at the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in Port Allen. Together, the brothers face numerous charges and are accused of buying items in 2020 and early 2021 for a hurricane disaster response and marking up the prices for reimbursement from the state. All parties reconvened after a two-week break in order for the former State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, to be able to testify.
The trial recessed early Nov. 19 to pick back up on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Update Dec. 12
Rob McCormick’s defense called two character witnesses first thing Thursday morning. Shortly after, his twin brother Tom McCormick took the stand. Rob took the stand on Dec. 11th.
Tom discussed his involvements in distributing supplies during the hurricanes and the winter ice storm of 2021. He said that the environment of the situations, especially Hurricane Laura, was difficult and Westside Services was doing everything it could to get things accomplished.
“We were bringing on people who just wanted to help,” he said.
Tom said that because of COVID closures, many people were not going into school or work, so friends and teenage friends of his children would come help with some of the supply distributions.
One of those people, Phillip Sibley, assisted during Hurricane Laura. After the monster storm, Tom said that Sibley came to him asking for his assistance in forming a company so that he could help more in future disasters.
Tom testified that he setup the LLC for Emergency Logistics Solutions, which took “all of 30 minutes” to do. Sibley then asked Tom to be ‘Agent for Service of Process’ to be involved in legal matters.
This did not make him an owner of any part of the company, Tom said. The company was a single-member LLC, just like McCormick Law Firm is a single-member LLC.
When asked about marking up prices on invoices he submitted on behalf of Westside Services, Tom acknowledged they were marked up, but also agreed with the defense lawyers that “making a profit is not illegal” in Louisiana.
Tom said he created the Gmail address for Bernard Christmas and Westside Services due to Christmas’ challenges with technology. He also said he created an automatic signature for Christmas to be included in all emails.
When the State questioned Tom about the signature and whether “everything signed by Bernard was you,” Tom confirmed that it was true.
Tom testified that he kept the signature automatic so that Christmas would not have to worry about how to add one in. He said that he wasn’t trying to conceal his identity in the emails, but that he could have easily changed the signature line to his own name.
Numerous checks made out to McCormick Law Firm from Westside Services in 2020 were presented to Tom by the State. Many checks were created on the same day and held a memo line of “legal services” or “legal fees.”
Questioned about why Christmas and his company were writing so many checks for legal services, Tom explained that these were checks for individual invoices for his work with Westside Services. He also said he did not dispute telling Christmas to write “legal services” in the memos.
“Everything I did was legal services,” Tom attested.
Legal services, he said, included shopping at Sam’s and Associated Grocers for water, driving trucks for delivery, contracting with vendors, and other business duties.
Tom said he did not keep a ledger for his hourly billing for Westside Services.
The State had asked Tom whether he had made any response to the Legislative Auditor after the report was finalized. Tom indicated this was after he and his brother had been indicted for the alleged crimes.
After Tom’s defense rested, the State called a final witness, April Duhe, to address the details surrounding a bar complaint made against Tom.
Duhe said she filed the complaint after two occasions where Tom and his client made changes to a judgment without notifying her or her client. She said that she did not know the outcome of the complaint.
Tom previously said he has never been disciplined for unethical conduct in law or in the military.
“If I kill something, I’m gonna eat it,” Tom said when asked if he did the work during the storms for altruistic reasons or if he set out to make money. He repeated the sentiment later.
After closing statements, Judge Batiste took a 10-minute break to prepare for his judgment. Around 5:45 p.m., he delivered the verdict, finding the brothers guilty on more than 300 charges — out of the original 425 included in the bill of indictment.
Batiste found both brothers guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit malfeasance in office, conspiracy to commit filing false public documents, conspiracy to commit felony theft, and conspiracy to commit prohibited splitting of profits.
Rob McCormick was also found guilty of malfeasance in office, filing false public documents, and prohibited splitting of profits.
Tom McCormick was also found guilty of felony theft.
“The legal authorities in this parish have sent a strong message that one, you cannot steal from the State of Louisiana, you cannot engage in criminal activity as a public official with your family members, and when you do such, you will face the full wrath of the State of Louisiana and the 18th Judicial District,” said Chad Aguillard, an attorney with the DA’s office.
Sentencing was rescheduled for Feb. 3, 2025, in the afternoon.
Update Dec. 11
Rob McCormick took the stand Wednesday to testify in his own defense. Rob relayed his military history, including his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, to demonstrate his expertise in planning and making decisions about the closure of bases in warzones.
After retiring from the military in Jun 2016 as a Lt. Colonel, Rob moved to Plaquemine — the same town his twin brother Tom was residing — and was hired as “Emergency Management Officer” for the Office of the State Fire Marshal in March 2019.
According to Rob’s testimony, the office had never been reimbursed for previous search and rescue or disaster missions before his arrival. He began immersing himself immediately into FEMA documents, training online for how to meet FEMA reimbursement requirements.
A few days before Hurricane Laura’s landfall, Rob said that he and another team member drove box trucks to secure resources like water, cots, and COVID PPE materials for the search and rescue teams. However, due to the fact that he was needed for other emergency roles, Rob said he was directed to stop driving the truck and find a third party vendor to perform those duties.
Rob said he suggested Bernard Christmas, who had an LLC under Westside Services, for the role as hot shot driver because he was “trustworthy.” Christmas began working for the Office of the State Fire Marshal hauling supplies just days before Laura’s landfall.
When Laura hit land, Rob said the demands for goods rose exponentially and he told Christmas “I need 10 more of you.” Rob said he then suggested Christmas hire someone like his brother Tom.
“There’s no playbook on how to get this stuff done…you call the people you know,” Rob told the State in cross-examination.
Rob testified that Tom was appointed as his power of attorney while Rob was serving overseas and that Tom has continued to have access to his finances. Rob broke down when recounting the decision to appoint his brother in case something had happened during his service, so that his family would be taken care of.
Tom still has power of attorney for Rob, he testified.
In answer to the allegations of Tom using money to pay for Rob’s USAA credit card, Rob said the payments were reimbursing purchases Tom had made on his brother’s card as part of Westside Services. Rob added that Tom paid part of his daughter’s tuition as reimbursement for additional charges on his credit card.
In his testimony, Rob repeatedly asserted that his superiors led him to believe it was OK to continue using Westside Services because Tom was not the owner of the company.
When asked how he felt about the charges he was facing, Rob told the defense that he was “absolutely outraged” because no one could understand the climate of urgency and “Herculean effort” that the Office of the State Fire Marshal was facing during the storms in 2020, in addition to the hurdles of COVID restrictions.
“We improvised to make it happen…I was directed to do it because they knew I got stuff done,” Rob said.
He added that the amounts of the transactions that the State was suing him and his brother Tom for only made up 7% of what he did during this time.
Trial will continue on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Update Dec. 10
The state called Butch Browning, the former State Fire Marshal, to the stand Tuesday morning. Browning was the State Fire Marshal during the events in question.
In November 2024, Browning wasn’t allowed to testify via Zoom. It’s why the trial resumed today.
Browning testified that when he was made aware that Rob McCormick may have been doing business with his brother, he asked his staff to look into the “rumors.”
After an investigation, he testified that his executive assistant and the staff counsel came back saying the “rumors” weren’t true. Browning said it’s why no action was taken to stop Rob from his work in procuring items for the disaster assistance.
For Hurricane Laura, the Office of the State Fire Marshal brought in around 500 out-of-state Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) individuals. The need for supplies such as water was very great, Browning said.
Dan Wallis, now retired from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, testified next and confirmed that the state of affairs within the office and its Emergency Operations Center was “swamped.”
Both Wallis and Browning said during the time of the incidents, the chain of command in regards to Rob McCormick was that Rob reported to Dean Smith, Smith reported to Wallis, and Wallis reported to Browning.
Wallis confirmed that he never directed Rob to do business with Tom McCormick or Westside Services. He testified that if he’d been aware that Tom had ownership interest in the company that Rob had contracted, he would have immediately reported it to Browning.
Wallis said that due to the great need for water in many areas, he instructed Dean Smith to find a way to get water. He added that Rob McCormick was the go-to person for getting things done during the response to the storms of late 2020.
He told the defense, however, that he was not aware of how things were getting done.
Dean Smith was called to the stand as the third witness on Tuesday morning. During times of emergency, Smith took on the title of “Deputy Commander, Assistant to the Commander.”
Contrary to the testimonies of Browning and Wallis, Smith said that Rob did not directly report to him during states of emergency. Smith said that his own role did not involve procurement during emergencies, which was what Rob would do.
Smith said that he had spoken to Rob about Westside Services and whether his brother Tom was connected. He testified that Rob told him there was no connection and Smith still is uncertain whether Tom is connected to the business.
When he originally learned that there was a possibility that Rob was conducting business with a family member, Smith testified that he told Wallis and Browning.
Shortly after, both Browning and Wallis approached him to say that the connection had been explored and there were no issues.
Smith testified that he has met Tom McCormick in legal meetings about Smith’s lawsuit against Butch Browning and the State for defamation.
After a lunch recess, the State first called Ricky Roubique and then Kyle Piercy, both of whom had worked within the Office of the State Fire Marshal. In his testimony, Piercy said that while he’d never met Tom McCormick, he had spoken with him on the phone.
At the time, Piercy said he was speaking to a man at Westside Services who referred to himself as Thomas Alvin. The State clarified that Alvin is Tom’s middle name.
Only later did Piercy come to understand that he’d been speaking with Rob’s brother, he said.
Piercy told the court that two people under his supervision had brought up the concern that Rob may have been working with his brother, which is against state regulations.
“My staff were concerned, so I was concerned,” he said.
Piercy said he reported the information he’d been told “up the chain,” and later learned that everything seemed to be okay. He confirmed that Westside Services was the business that the office was relying on to get water and supplies in a timely and efficient manner.
After Piercy’s testimony, the State called up Erin St. Pierre, who was deputy chief over Special Services at the Office of the State Fire Marshal in 2020. She previously held a position as counsel for the office, but only helped in some legal matters at the time of the storm response.
St. Pierre testified that multiple people approached her after the Office of the State Fire Marshal began contracting with Westside Services to say they had seen someone they thought was Rob’s brother.
She said she approached Chief Browning about the concern and also said she would check the Secretary of the State’s website to see if Tom McCormick’s name was associated with the company. In her search, she said she did not see Tom mentioned and relayed that information to others.
When cross examined about her “investigation,” St. Pierre told the defense that in hindsight, she could have possibly done more to look into it, but that she did what she said she would do and passed the information along to those who needed it.
The State called its final witness, Candy McCormick, who is Tom’s wife. Candy, who was ill, came into the courtroom and took the stand, but immediately asserted “spousal privilege.”
Judge Batiste allowed her to leave the stand and wished her well in getting over her sickness.
The State then rested its case, and the defense requested a motion for acquittal, citing Article 778 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This motion can be filed by the defense or judge in a trial by judge after the state finishes presenting all evidence (or at the end of all evidence presented) if the evidence isn’t sufficient for a conviction.
The McCormicks’ defense cited two main reasons for requesting the acquittal, including that the investigation into the brothers was based on “faulty assumptions.” They also cited that in the charges that the men are facing, there is an element of intent, which is not found in any of the State’s witnesses.
In addition, the defense argued that no evidence of RICO, conspiracy, racketeering, or money laundering was present in any of the witnesses’ statements or evidence.
After giving reasons for the motion to acquit, Judge Batiste informed the courtroom that the test for Article 778 is whether the State provided sufficient evidence and he believed they had passed that test. Therefore, he said he would deny the motion and asked the defense whether it was ready to proceed.
The trial recessed Tuesday around 3 p.m. with plans to reconvene Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 9 a.m.
Update Nov 19 at 10 a.m.
The state attempted to put State Fire Marshal Chief Butch Browning on the stand Monday morning via Zoom due to Browning being out of state. However, Judge Batiste ruled that Browning must testify in person.
The state may call additional witnesses before resting, but due to Browning’s unavailability and importance to the state and defense, trial is in recess until Dec. 10. This is the earliest availability on Judge Batiste’s calendar.
Update Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.
The state called several witnesses on Monday, including employees from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, to testify in the trial of Robert and Thomas McCormick.
One witness, Lindsay Savoy, an administrative program specialist in 2020, described her experience handling purchases at the Fire Marshal’s main office. She testified that Rob McCormick once contacted her to urgently process a transaction on her La Carte card for a “hot shot” company. The transaction totaled over $24,000 and was described as “supplies” for employees in the Lake Charles area.
Savoy said she approved the transaction to ensure employees had essential items. However, she later discovered the vendor was Gifts Unlimited, and most of the expenses were for bottled water.
“I would never have spent that much money on water,” she testified. She also expressed concern that the purchase appeared to be a “split purchase,” a practice strictly prohibited on La Carte cards. Savoy requested that Rob McCormick write a justification letter for the expenses to submit to the state.
Tammy Toups, the director of the Office of State Travel at the time of the transactions, also testified. She confirmed that split purchases are a significant violation of policy, calling them an “immediate cause for concern.”
Toups became aware of irregularities after a compliance data analyst flagged purchases made by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The flagged information was forwarded to Toups, who escalated the issue for further investigation, which ultimately triggered a legislative audit.
Toups also disclosed her familial connection to Thomas McCormick—her brother is McCormick’s brother-in-law. She testified that she immediately disclosed this relationship to investigating agencies to avoid any conflict of interest.
Later in the day, John Wilbert IV, owner of Just Johns, testified about his subcontract work with Thomas McCormick and Westside Services. His company supplied equipment such as porta potties, handwashing stations, and generators for a hurricane response base camp. Wilbert submitted an invoice to Thomas McCormick for nearly $98,000 but later discovered that Westside Services had sent a modified invoice to Robert McCormick. The changes included extending rental periods and raising prices.
Wilbert said he was shocked when he saw the Westside Services invoice and confirmed he was not compensated for the marked-up costs.
The state informed the court that it expects to call two more witnesses on Tuesday morning.
Update Nov 15 at 5:15 p.m.
Bernard Christmas, who is the owner of Westside Services, was on the stand Friday. The state argued that Westside Services was created for the purpose of the McCormick brothers’ defrauding scheme.
The company was founded just two and a half months before Hurricane Laura, according to records presented by the state. Tom McCormick submitted invoices on behalf of Westside Services for services and goods purchased during disaster relief.
The judge ordered a recess with court to reconvene on Monday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m.
Update Nov. 13 at 6:45 p.m.
The state continued questioning Thomas Horne on his expert testimony regarding invoices billed to the Office of the State Fire Marshal for purchases made at the request of or by Rob and Tom McCormick for hurricanes in 2020 and the 2021 Winter Ice Storm.
He covered catering purchases, along with handwash stations and porta potties, warehouse lease, and a rental of an American Legion hall for emergency response volunteers to stay at. All of these were invoiced to the state at higher rates than originally paid for, the witness said.
Horne referenced parts of the Louisiana Emergency Procurement Manual to showcase areas where it appeared that Rob McCormick did not follow requirements set forth by the state for emergency situations like Hurricane Laura. One of these requirements is to consider pre-vetted emergency contractors approved by the state.
“The evidence reviewed was consistent that Tom and Rob were working together,” Horne said.
The defense began cross examination of the expert witness around 3:30 p.m. Rob McCormick’s lawyer Roger Jordan focused on questioning Horne’s “expert” status and understanding of a disaster response situation.
Jordan said the Office of the State Fire Marshal spearheaded all efforts for relief from Hurricanes Laura, Sally, Delta and Zeta. He also pointed out that the Louisiana Emergency Procurement Manual was suspended during COVID-19 and for Hurricane Laura.
Court recessed close to 5:30 Wednesday evening.
Update Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.
Thomas Horne continued his expert testimony Wednesday morning, explaining records used in his original audit.
Horne explained “pass through” schemes, which is a subset of shell company schemes and what the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office believes the McCormick brothers engaged in.
In a pass through, services are provided but at inflated rates, he said.
The expert testified that the Office of the State Fire Marshal paid a total reimbursement exceeding $846,000 to three companies: Westside Services, Gifts Unlimited and Emergency Logistics Services. These companies were allegedly the instruments with which many of the goods and services were utilized during times of emergency.
The reimbursements for bottled water, ice, and other goods and services exceeded the actual purchase costs, Horne told the State. He noted that the excess amount reimbursed was to benefit Rob McCormick and Tom McCormick.
In September 2020, several days after Hurricane Laura made landfall, payments from Westside Services and Gifts Unlimited, in an amount over $114,471, were deposited into the McCormick Law Firm’s bank account for “legal fees.” Horne said in his office’s investigation, no legal services were ever uncovered.
The day after the money was deposited, Tom McCormick paid around $10,000 on his personal Capital One credit card. There was also a payment for Smart Tuition for nearly $5000, Horne reported.
Also during that time, Rob McCormick’s personal USAA credit card received two payments, both of which came from the McCormick Law Firm’s bank account.
Multiple car loan payments were also made from the firm’s account.
Horne testified that items bought for emergency services were bought with personal credit cards and invoiced through Westside Services and the other companies. The invoices to the Office of the State Fire Marshal were billed at higher rates than originally purchased.
For Hurricane Laura, items such as paper towels, toilet paper, ice, snacks, and generator rentals were billed at a 170% markup in total, Horne explained.
Trial is still ongoing at this time.
The McCormick brothers chose to waive a jury and opted for a bench trial, where the judge serves as the jury and judge.
The brothers were indicted by a West Baton Rouge Grand Jury in 2021 for multiple charges in an alleged attempt to defraud the state out of $800,000. Later, a West Baton Rouge judge set bond for the brothers at $200,000 each.
READ NOW: Two brothers and four others indicted for allegedly defrauding more than $800,000
According to the bill of indictment, together, they face more than 400 counts of charges, including: conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, violation of Louisiana’s RICO Act, conspiracy to commit malfeasance in office, malfeasance in office, conspiracy to commit filing false public documents, filing false public documents, conspiracy to commit injuring public records, injuring public record, conspiracy to commit theft, felony theft, conspiracy to commit public bribery, public bribery, conspiracy to commit corrupt influencing, corrupt influencing, conspiracy to commit public contract fraud, public contract fraud, conspiracy to commit prohibited splitting of profits, prohibited splitting of profits, conspiracy to commit illegal transmission of monetary funds, and illegal transmission of monetary funds.
On Tuesday, both brothers appeared in court before Judge Alvin Batiste as District Attorney Tony Clayton and his team, along with the McCormicks’ lawyers, made their opening statements.
The alleged crimes occurred during the 2020 hurricane season and included actions taken during Hurricanes Laura, Sally, Delta, Zeta, and the Winter Storm of 2021 while Rob McCormick was with the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The State said the brothers made a “clear, blatant attempt to defraud the State of Louisiana.”
Tom McCormick’s defense attorney Cameron Mary attested that the District Attorney’s office’s case is just confirmation bias, and that the office is ignoring any evidence that doesn’t support their case.
“The facts aren’t what the State says they are,” he said.
The state called an expert witness, Thomas Horne, a senior investigative auditor with Louisiana Legislative Auditor, who was responsible for investigating the Office of the State Fire Marshal and McCormicks’ finances. Horne said the complaint was brought to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor by the Department of Administration.
The no. 1 concern at the time that raised flags for an investigation, Horne said, was the “split purchases” on Rob McCormick’s credit cards, namely the LaCarte card, which is used for emergency situations, like the hurricanes.
Horne said his research into the LaCarte online program’s receipts and documentation of the brothers provided enough credible evidence to continue the investigation. In particular, bottled waters that were purchased for use in disaster response during Hurricane Laura were priced “substantially higher” than the $0.25/bottle that is typical for contractors for the state.
In total, Horne said that $1,709,783 was spent during the hurricane season.
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