A federal grand jury has indicted New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and her former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, on charges of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege the pair misused public funds to cover a romantic relationship, portraying personal travel and downtime as official security assignments. According to the indictment unsealed late Friday, Cantrell and Vappie claimed Vappie was on duty during 14 domestic and international trips between October 2021 and his retirement in June 2024. The arrangement allegedly cost the city about $70,000. Investigators say the two treated a city-owned apartment as their private residence and exchanged thousands of auto-deleted WhatsApp messages to conceal the scheme. Prosecutors further accuse the defendants of intimidating subordinates, lying to FBI agents and making false statements to a grand jury. If convicted, each count carries the possibility of multi-year prison sentences and fines of up to $250,000. The City of New Orleans said it is reviewing the indictment. Cantrell and Vappie have not publicly commented.