Chicago’s inspector general completed nine investigations in the first quarter and found that Chicago police officers fraudulently obtained forgivable loans under the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program, investigators announced.
A 10th city worker, identified as an alderman, also received a fraudulent PPP loan and then filed a false report claiming someone stole their identity and used it to submit the loan application, the OIG said. first quarterly report. The report does not name the targets of OIG’s investigations.
In one CPD case, investigators determined that an officer lied to fraudulently obtain two PPP loans totaling $41,666 before joining the department, and then filed false returns to secure loan forgiveness. The officer again lied about the case during the CPD application process, failed to show up for a scheduled interview with OIG investigators, and ultimately resigned while under investigation. CPD agreed with OIG’s recommendation to add the officer to the city’s “do not hire” list, the quarterly report said.
The report also stated that CPD had “tentatively” agreed to dismissing eight other officers and placing them on the city’s no-hire list for PPP loan fraud.
One individual fraudulently applied for and received forgiveness for two federal PPP loans totaling $41,666. Another applied for two federal PPP loans totaling $41,142, along with an Economic Disaster Loan of $10,000. Three officers each received $20,833 through separate and unrelated PPP loan applications. Another received $37,154 in PPP loans, another received $20,000, and one received $40,000 through a PPP loan made while they were a city employee but before joining CPD, according to OIG.
In the councilman’s case, the OIG said the employee lied on PPP loan applications and loan forgiveness to illegally obtain $20,833 and avoid repayment. During the investigation, OIG learned that the employee had filed a false report for identity theft, filed a false report with the U.S. Small Business Administration making the same claim, and lied to OIG investigators about their role in applying for the loan and seeking forgiveness.
OIG recommended that the councilor supervising the employee terminate the employee and add him to the “do not hire” list, but the councilor did not respond by deadline. The councilman later acknowledged that he had received the OIG’s recommendations, but did not indicate whether they agreed with them or what action would be taken, according to the quarterly report. Instead, the councilor wrote that they “take seriously the matters outlined in your report and recognize the importance of maintaining the highest standards of integrity, responsibility and professionalism in all areas of service delivery,” adding that “appropriate steps are being taken to ensure all applicable policies and future expectations are met.”
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