From the U.S, Attorney:
Suburban Chicago Police Officer Charged With Covid-Relief Fraud
CHICAGO – A suburban Chicago police officer has been indicted for allegedly fraudulently obtaining Covid-relief loans and concealing the proceeds in his bankruptcy case.
An indictment returned Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges WILLIAM FREDERICK REED, 41, of Hazel Crest, Ill., with
- making false statements in U.S. Small Business Administration loan applications,
- bankruptcy fraud, and
- tax offenses.
Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
According to the indictment, Reed worked as a police officer in Dolton, Ill., and Robbins, Ill., and was also self-employed as a security guard.
In 2020 and 2021, Reed applied for and obtained loans pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) to provide financial relief for small businesses during the Covid pandemic.
A PPP loan allowed the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent a certain amount of the proceeds on essential expenses, such as payroll.
The charges allege that Reed falsely represented in his applications that he was qualified to receive the loans based on inflated and falsified average monthly payrolls for his “off duty security” job.
In all, Reed fraudulently obtained three loans, the indictment alleges.
In 2022, Reed filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
The indictment alleges that during the bankruptcy case, Reed made false statements and provided false documents to conceal his receipt of the PPP loans and submitted a fraudulent 2021 individual income tax return to cause the U.S. Trustee, the Chapter 7 Trustee, and his creditors not to inquire further into his financial affairs.
The tax charges accuse Reed of underreporting income and falsifying withholdings in his 2021 individual tax return and failing to file any individual returns in 2022 and 2023.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, Sheldon Shoemaker, Deputy Inspector General of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Trustee Program. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Julien and Hayley L. Altabef, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Netols.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving Covid-19 can report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud at (866) 720-5721 or by filing an online complaint here.
