Illinois inmates got half million in PPP loans, bonded out of jail

quote:

---

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — More than two dozen people have been charged in Illinois with fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief money, with authorities alleging that some of them were behind bars when they used their relief money to post bond and free themselves from jail.

Joliet Police Chief William Evans said Wednesday that 25 people were part of the alleged fraud scheme to get Paycheck Protection Program checks while not operating actual businesses.

Evans said each fraudulently obtained loan was for between $19,000 and $20,000, with the fraud costing taxpayers upwards of $500,000.

Investigators found that some of the defendants were inmates at the Will County Jail in Joliet, a Chicago suburb, when they applied for and received loans through the pandemic program, and then used the money to bond out of jail on their felony cases.

Evans said some of the defendants were in custody and used jail phones “to complete the fraudulent PPP loan process.”

---