A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted five individuals on charges of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in loans and benefits meant to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The indictment, unsealed this week in the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that George Kavroulakis, Athanasios Intzes, Adam Jaber, Hassan Kurdi, and Abdallah Issa engaged in schemes involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA).
According to prosecutors, Kavroulakis, 33, of Tinley Park; Intzes, 35, of Orland Park; Jaber, 34, of Chicago; Kurdi, 35, of Chicago; and Issa, 26, of Tinley Park face multiple counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty. A status hearing is scheduled for August 14 before U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins.
Prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2021 the defendants submitted numerous fraudulent applications for relief funds on behalf of themselves and corporate entities they controlled. These applications allegedly included false information about company employees, revenue figures, payroll amounts, and other expenses.
The indictment also accuses Kavroulakis, Jaber, and Intzes of causing the disbursement of about $750,000 in fraudulent PUA benefits in Illinois and California by submitting false statements regarding unemployment status.
Authorities say much of the money was used for personal expenses such as luxury vehicles and a Rolex watch.
Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced the indictment along with Douglas S. DePodesta from the FBI’s Chicago Field Office; Robert Collins from the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General; and Megan Howell from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
"The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Anyone with information about attempted Covid-19 fraud is encouraged to report it to federal authorities at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form or by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.
