A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted four people for allegedly securing millions of dollars in small business loans through fraudulent means under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to an indictment unsealed this week in the Northern District of Illinois, Dexter M. Crawford, Jr., Timika Royston, Orlando Patrick, and Jeremie Miller are accused of defrauding lenders and the U.S. Small Business Administration by submitting false applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds between 2020 and 2022. The indictment alleges that these applications included misrepresentations about their companies’ number of employees, payroll figures, revenue amounts, and other expenses.
Crawford, 41, from Woodridge, Illinois, faces seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. Royston, 49, from Chicago is charged with three counts of wire fraud; Patrick, 54, also from Chicago is charged with two counts; and Miller, 42, from Plainfield faces one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. Each count of wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison while each money laundering charge could result in up to ten years.
Royston and Miller have entered not guilty pleas. Patrick’s arraignment is set for August 28 while a date for Crawford’s arraignment has not been scheduled.
The charges were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ramsey E. Covington, Special Agent-in-Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago; with assistance from the SBA Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Snell represents the government.
“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 regarding attempted Covid-19 relief fraud can contact the Department of Justice via the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or file a complaint online at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
