25 PPP Loan Fraud Charges, Joliet Police Reveal

JOLIET, IL — A lengthy Joliet Police Department felony investigation into Paycheck Protection Program fraudulent loans has resulted in 25 people being charged with crimes, Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans revealed at Wednesday afternoon's press conference at the downtown station.

"In a clear overabundance of greed, these individuals exploited an extremely important federal program for their personal gain," Chief Evans told a room full of reporters. "I'm extremely proud of our detectives and officers who invested a significant amount of time investigating such a complex case."

Evans also thanked "our partners in law enforcement for their eager and vital collaboration on this case. Without such teamwork, such a case may not be possible."

So far, 15 criminal defendants have been captured and have court cases at the Will County Courthouse pending. Another 10 people now have warrants out for their arrest, according to Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, his agency's spokesman.

The 25 PPP loan defendants are as follows:

ALREADY ARRESTED

Maria Beach, 23, two counts of theft by deception, theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and state benefits fraud.

Walter Duncan, 23, two counts of theft by deception, theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and forgery.

Jacques Harris Jr., 25, two counts of theft by deception, theft, two counts of loan fraud, forgery and state benefits fraud.

Anthony Love, 41, two counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

Victoria Orasco, 27, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Adrian Clark, 34, four counts of theft by deception, four counts of loan fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

Antwan Godfrey, 41, theft, loan fraud and wire fraud.

Monroe Lincoln Jr., 25, two counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud, forgery and wire fraud.

Ronald Neal, 32, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and two counts of state benefits fraud.

Ryan Reddick, 36, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Reginald Rogers Jr., 30, three counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and state benefits fraud.

Adrian Bailey, 21, three counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud, two counts of wire fraud, forgery and state benefits fraud.

Jarvis Perkins, 37, two counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Makhi Jones, 28, continuing a financial enterprise, theft by deception, loan fraud and state benefits fraud.

Jesse Tucker, 26, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, forgery and wire fraud.

STILL WANTED BY JPD:

Cristian Ambriz, 21, two counts of theft by deception, theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and state benefits fraud.

Tommie Crockwell, 31, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Matthew Millirons, 24, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Darron Prince, 35, two counts of theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Eric Tyler, 35, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Sonjre Childs, 29, two counts of theft by deception, theft, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Raven Johnson, 21, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Jeremy Moffett, 37, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud, theft, state benefits fraud.

Maurice Robinson, 45, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Donte Wash, 21, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud.

Evans singled out the exemplary work of Joliet Police Detectives James Kilgore and Jeff German in connection with the PPP loan investigation across Joliet. Evans said that practically all 25 defendants are accused of bilking the government out of roughly $19,000 or $20,000.

Many of the defendants set up false businesses or companies as part of their efforts to obtain the fraudulent PPP loans, the chief said.

Joliet Police are calling their investigation Operation Triple P.

Some of the people who committed PPP loan fraud, did so by making calls from the Will County Jail, where they were already incarcerated, according to officials.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has approved 25 criminal complaints for various financial crimes including wire fraud, loan fraud and theft, plus unemployment benefits fraud through the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Evans noted.

Detective Kilgore told reporters that it's possible that more people will be charged with crimes in the weeks and months ahead. "It's still ongoing," Kilgore remarked. And "there's a wide variety of sentences."