A federal judge has sentenced Christopher Scott, a resident of Hazel Crest, Illinois, to five years and ten months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $550,000 in small business loans under the CARES Act. The sentencing took place on Wednesday and included an order for Scott to pay $567,333 in restitution.
According to court documents, Scott submitted multiple applications for relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL) during 2020 and 2021. These applications were made on behalf of businesses that did not exist or were not operating. The submissions contained false information about revenues, payrolls, and expenses. As a result of this scheme, lenders and the U.S. Small Business Administration disbursed more than $550,000 in loans to Scott.
The funds obtained through these fraudulent means were used by Scott and others for personal purchases at luxury retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Jared Jewelers, Von Maur, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Scott pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal wire fraud charge.
Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Dai Tran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office announced the sentence. The SBA Office of Inspector General provided substantial assistance during the investigation.
“Put simply, Scott’s crime was motivated by greed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro G. Ortega argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “This offense was not a simple lapse in judgment, or a crime born out of economic poverty or necessity. It was, at least, a year-long scheme to fraudulently obtain free money from the government.”
“The government programs exploited in this case were intended to help struggling small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic,” Secret Service SAIC Tran said. “Instead, this man pilfered more than half a million dollars from these programs—and by extension, taxpayers—to go on an outrageous high-end spending spree to benefit himself. I’m proud of the work the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois did to bring justice in this case.”
