NAPOLEONVILLE — A Belle Rose man was arrested Friday after an investigation uncovered his connection to a pyramid scheme that defrauded several people, Assumption Parish deputies said.

John Michael Thibodeaux, 44, was arrested on felony theft and illegal pyramid scheme charges. Thibodeaux's arrest comes after an investigation into multiple theft complaints dating back to December 2023 by the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office.

This arrest is related to one of the complaints, said Lonny Cavalier, Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office public information officer. This particular complaint was from a couple that alleged Thibodeaux stole $14,000 from them, Cavalier added.

Deputies said Thibodeaux allegedly collected a large sum of money from multiple other people and claimed he would invest their funds into the stock market and promising high returns on their investments. The fraud victims then became suspicious after dividend payments either stopped or never started, leading them to request financial ledgers or related transaction documents from Thibodeaux.

He was unable to produce the documents. In fact, he never invested any of the funds, investigators said.

Deputies have identified multiple other potential fraud victims and they will be notified as the investigation continues, Cavalier said.

Thibodeaux has been booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center and is set to remain there until a bond hearing.