According to a 33-count indictment, the defendants paid to have previously dissolved businesses reincorporated in order to use them as shell companies through which they could apply for small business loans and grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Seven Chicago-area residents have been indicted for allegedly obtaining at least $16 million in fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans for various businesses they claimed to own and operate in Illinois and Florida, federal prosecutors said.