NEW ORLEANS —  An activist who has been a leader in efforts to rebuild a New Orleans neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Katrina was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation for his role in a loan fraud scheme.

Robert Green had pleaded guilty in April to federal felony charges stemming from a scheme in which he prepared false tax returns attached to fraudulent home loan applications from as early as 2001.

Before word of his guilty plea surfaced in December, Green had been championed by actor Brad Pitt to be among the first to receive a home through Pitt's Make It Right program.

He could have been sentenced to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, but U.S. District Judge A.J. McNamara said he was impressed because Green had turned his life around since Katrina.

The judge also praised Green for staying off cocaine and adhering to a drug treatment plan.

"That to me is at least as important, and maybe more so" than other good work he has done to rebuild the devastated Lower 9th Ward, the judge said.

A tax preparer by trade, Green was interviewed by countless news agencies and film crews after the storm, recounting for anyone who cared to listen the heart-wrenching story of how he lost his home and two family members in Katrina's 2005 flooding.

It wasn't until December, after the Make It Right project championed Green for their cause, that news agencies _ and Make It Right _ found out about Green's guilty plea.

The news was a disappointing blow to organizers of the program, to which Pitt pledged $5 million in matching contributions for the effort to build 150 affordable, environmentally friendly homes.

The program's spokeswoman, Virginia Miller, has said it remains unclear how Green's legal situation will affect whether he gets a new home from Make It Right.

New Orleans' recovery director, Ed Blakely, also was caught off guard by Green's troubles.

Blakely said he had countless conversations with Green since coming on board as recovery director a year ago. He said Green had been one of the 9th Ward's biggest activists, helping to organize recovery programs and cleanup efforts.

"He's been a voice, a very reasonable voice for that community," Blakely said. "I hope his one wrong hasn't destroyed a lot of rights."

Green's plea agreement requires him to testify for the government if called on, meaning he could testify when Citywide Mortgage Co. owner Michael O'Keefe Jr. goes on trial July 7.

O'Keefe Jr., son of disgraced former state Sen. Michael O'Keefe, is accused of defrauding the federal government into guaranteeing nearly $600,000 in Citywide loans to unqualified borrowers. He is scheduled for trial July 7 on charges of conspiracy and money laundering.

Green was paid $8,000 for his role in the scheme, and was ordered Wednesday to pay that same amount in restitution.

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On the Net:

Foundation: http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

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