Derrick Shepherd, once considered a rising political star who won three elections and basked in the glory of his military service, was indicted Thursday for allegedly helping a woman who orchestrated an illegal scheme to launder $2 million for her construction bond business.

A grand jury returned a 41-count superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana that charged Shepherd, a Democratic state senator from Marrero, alongside convicted bond broker Gwendolyn Joseph Moyo; her accused “straw man,” James Zoucha; and two Nevada corporations she used to do business after being prohibited from writing construction bonds.

Shepherd is charged with three criminal counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of 85 years in prison, but legal observers predicted that he realistically faces closer to six years.

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