IG says state employees made up businesses, lied about income to defraud federal COVID aid program

Illinois state employees fabricated hair salons, paid others to inaccurately fill out forms and drastically inflated income numbers for their side businesses in an effort to fraudulently receive pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to recently released reports from the Office of Executive Inspector General.

The woman told investigators she “did what everyone else was doing at the time in order to get money,” the IG reports said. “She said that she did not use loan proceeds for any kind of business expenses because she does not have any business expenses.” “Attorney General Raoul is committed to holding accountable individuals who viewed the COVID pandemic as an opportunity for personal enrichment,” Dunn-Thomason said, while declining to comment further on pending investigations.

“While the vast majority of IDHS’ roughly 14,000 state employees are hard-working people of strong character who work tirelessly to help the most vulnerable, it is deeply concerning any time an employee takes advantage of public programs,” spokesperson Daisy Contreras said in an email. Many said they used the money for everyday expenses such as food and gas, the reports said. Other employees told the watchdog they spent the money on expenses related to a business, but admitted their businesses earned only a fraction of the money they claimed on their PPP application forms.

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