LDWF: 2 accused in illegal sale of grandpa’s boat

A Pierre Part man was arrested for selling his deceased grandfather’s boat to a Berwick man who admitted to knowing about the deception, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Arrest warrants issued by the agency’s Enforcement Division state that the men were arrested Thursday for falsifying a boat sale.
Tyler J. Chenvert, 19, of Pierre Part, and Lawrence J. Toups Jr., 48, of Berwick, were charged with injuring public records. Agents also charged Chenvert with forgery and felony theft and Toups with filing false public documents. Agents booked Chenvert into the St. Mary Parish Jail and Toups into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail.
According to the warrants, Chenvert forged his grandfather’s signature on a bill of sale, claiming to be the rightful owner of a vessel he sold to Toups Aug. 19.
The vessel is registered to his grandfather who has been deceased since Feb. 17, 2012.
During the investigation, Toups admitted to agents that he knew Chenvert had forged the grandfather’s signature on the bill of sale. Chenvert and Toups completed the sale of the vessel for $1,800, which resulted in Chenvert committing theft against his grandfather’s heirs to the vessel, according to a news release from the state.
Toups then filed the forged bill of sale when trying to register the vessel in his name on Aug. 30, which resulted in filing a false public document. On the boat registration application, Toups also said he purchased the boat from the deceased grandfather, which didn’t match the forged bill of sale, the release states.
Injuring public records and filing false public documents each carry up to a $5,000 fine and five years in jail for each offense. Forgery brings up to a $5,000 fine and 10 years in jail. Felony theft carries up to a $3,000 fine and 10 years in jail.