BATON ROUGE — Two men have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to steal federal grant money from the Louisiana Department of Education.

Romney Manuel, 52, of Prairieville, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Demietriek Scott, 50, of New Orleans, received a 29-month sentence. Both were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson also sentenced Manuel to two years of supervised release and Scott to three years of supervised release after their prison terms.

Each man is ordered to pay $74,250 in restitution.

According to admissions made during their pleas, Manuel and Scott worked together to get federal grant money from the Louisiana Department of Education. They made a non-existent childcare provider appear operational and manipulated spreadsheets and data systems used by the department to steal $74,250 in federal funds.