Two people from the Chicago area have been indicted on charges of fraud after they allegedly attempted to scam the federal government out of more than $740,000 in COVID relief loans and grants. Te Dora Brown, 43, from Palos Park, and Christopher Scott, 43, from Hazel Crest, are each facing multiple counts of wire fraud.
The pair is accused of submitting 15 fraudulent applications to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, two federal programs designed to provide financial assistance to small businesses during the pandemic. Brown and Scott allegedly opened bank accounts in the names of five fictitious businesses and used falsified IRS documents to make it appear as if those businesses had payrolls. They were then able to obtain a total of $465,500 in PPP loans and $277,000 in EIDL loans, which they used for their own benefit.
If convicted, both Brown and Scott face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud.
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