From the U.S. Attorney:
FEDERAL GRAND JURY IN CHICAGO INDICTS FOUR INDIVIDUALS FOR ALLEGED COVID-RELIEF FRAUD
CHICAGO – A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted four individuals for allegedly fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in small business loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.
DEXTER M. CRAWFORD, JR., TIMIKA ROYSTON, ORLANDO PATRICK, and JERMIE MILLER engaged in fraud related to
- the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and
- the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)
—two sources of relief under the CARES Act, according to an indictment unsealed this week in the Northern District of Illinois.
The indictment alleges that the defendants defrauded lenders and the U.S. Small Business Administration of millions of dollars in PPP loans and EIDL funds.
From 2020 to 2022, the defendants submitted numerous fraudulent applications on behalf of themselves and business entities purportedly owned by some of the defendants, the indictment states.
The applications contained materially false statements and misrepresentations about the defendants’ companies, including the number of purported employees, payroll and revenue amounts, and other expenses, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Crawford, 41, of Woodridge, Ill., with seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering; Royston, 49, of Chicago, with three counts of wire fraud; Patrick, 54, of Chicago, with two counts of wire fraud; and Miller, 42, of Plainfield, Ill., with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
Each wire fraud count is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison, while each money laundering count is punishable by up to ten years.
Royston and Miller have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Arraignment for Patrick is scheduled for Aug. 28, 2025. Arraignment for Crawford has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ramsey E. Covington, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago. Valuable assistance was provided by the SBA Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Snell.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving Covid-19 is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or filing an online complaint at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
