Bilking government agencies of publicly disbursed entitlements is now a national pastime, and when COVID struck, it only got worse. As Uncle Sam began rolling out one relief program after another, several bad actors moved into place to see how much of that money they could get without doing anything…
The federal government considers fraud of public funds earmarked from natural disaster relief programs a particularly black-hearted crime. A Chicago tax preparer is facing charges that he helped his clients obtain millions in coronavirus relief aid under The CARES Act. While helping your clients secure loans is not in itself…
For as many government entitlement programs as there are, there are a number of ways to commit fraud. People commit fraud against the unemployment program, Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, social security, and more. Aldermen commit fraud against government initiatives and then funnel the money to their own personal coffers. Now,…
A Chicago-area businessman has been indicted on federal charges for making fraudulent claims to the government in order to bilk COVID relief money from the fund. Carlos Smith, 56, of Park Forest, Illinois is charged with fraudulently obtaining $420,000 in small business loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and…
Rahul Shah became the first person in the Chicago area with the dubious distinction of defrauding the federal government for coronavirus relief funds. Shah applied for a $441,000 federal loan earmarked for small business relief during the coronavirus pandemic. When confronted concerning the suspicious forms used to apply for…
Those who are in prison awaiting trial for crimes for which they have been accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. Yet the law has a vested interest in holding some detainees until trial—especially if they are considered either flight risks or a danger to the community. Despite that, one…
Each state has its own laws when dealing with quarantine orders. There are also federal laws that lay out penalties for violating a quarantine order. These laws vary widely from one state to another. In some places, like Florida, you can be charged with a misdemeanor and face six months…
In the age of the coronavirus, crime still exists even as the courts are mostly shut down across the United States and especially here in Illinois. In fact, throughout much of the U.S., the criminal justice system is on pause. However, in Missouri, one man has been charged with making…