Chicago Man Charged By Feds With Bank Fraud Over $400 Thousand Paycheck Protection Program Loan

A Chicago-area man is facing Federal fraud charges relating to allegations that he attempted to wrongly obtain over $400,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans earlier this year.

According to investigators, the 51-year-old man applied for the loans, which are guaranteed by the Small Business Association (SBA) and authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in order to fill payroll for a firm he owns. To support the claims made in the loan application, the man allegedly submitted several false and fraudulent IRS documents.

Among the false forms the defendant allegedly sent in was a forged 1099-MISC that indicated that his firm paid people they never actually paid. He also allegedly submitted several falsified Forms 941 inflating his company’s payroll for 2019. However, upon comparison with forms previously filed with the IRS, investigators said they noted a substantial difference between the amount previously claimed and that amount submitted to support the PPP loan.

Altogether investigators say the defendant claimed $441,138 in fraudulent PPP loans.

The defendant was charged by a federal criminal complaint with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in the chambers of a court in the Northern District of Illinois last week. No further proceedings have yet been scheduled.

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