A federal grand jury has indicted 19 United States Postal Service employees and former employees, charging them with fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
That program provided money to small businesses directly affected by COVID-19. The funds could be used to cover up to eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.
But the amount of people fraudulently receiving money has called into question oversight of the program. Some estimates say it could be near $580 billion, leading one former prosecutor to call it “the biggest fraud in a generation.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Central Illinois, the indicted individuals, all current or former Postal Service employees, are:
Dominique Alexander, 31, of Downers Grove, Illinois, formally of Springfield, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Tenneil Baskin, 42, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Breanea Brown, 28, of Savoy, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Rachaundra Donaldson, 33, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Maya Egbejima, 25, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Larry Eubanks, 35, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Angela Gillespie, 35, of Champaign, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Patrice Green, 47, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in August 2023 with four counts of wire fraud.
Charles Hughes, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, formally of Springfield, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Marcus Jones, 39, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Sarah Jones, 43, of Danville, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Jasmine Morris, 30, of Champaign, Illinois, was charged in February 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Shakeena Mosley, 35, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with four counts of wire fraud.
Ainmere Sangster, 32, of Champaign, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Diamond Vinson, 29, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in August 2023 with four counts of wire fraud.
Uniqua Whitaker, 27, of Urbana, Illinois, was charged in March 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Ta Sheena White, 32, of Urbana, Illinois, was charged in March 2023 with one count of wire fraud.
Rikkia Williams, 33, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in September 2023 with two counts of wire fraud.
Shawntelle Lynn, 31, of Springfield, Illinois, was charged in October 2022 with two counts of wire fraud.
Each of the individuals have either already been arraigned or have been issued a summons to appear in federal court in Springfield or Urbana for arraignment. If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for the alleged crimes charged are a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment, a maximum five-year term of supervised release, and restitution.
Authorities said if members of the public suspect anyone fraudulently obtained or misused benefits, they should contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NDCF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submit the NCDF Web Complaint Form. Hotline staff will obtain information regarding complaints, which will then be reviewed by law enforcement officials. More information is available at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
Also, investigators have found at least 177 state employees who appear to have committed PPP fraud.
The cases have been referred to the Illinois attorney general’s office for possible prosecution. None has been charged with any crime “as of yet,” according to Susan Haling, the state’s executive inspector general. She told the Chicago Sun-Times her investigation is “far from being finished.”
Of those employees, 132 worked for the Illinois Department of Human Services, one of the state’s largest agencies, with more than 13,000 employees.
Haling’s office has launched 438 investigations into possible PPP fraud and concluded 204.
