$750,000 Bail For Joliet Police's Latest PPP Defendant

JOLIET, IL — A 23-year-old Joliet man who lives in the Plainfield area is now in the Will County Jail in connection with allegations he scammed the government out of $20,832 by receiving improper funds through the CARES Act, court documents show.

Joliet police booked Walter Duncan Jr. into the Will County Jail on June 27. His bail was set at $750,000, and he remains unable to come up with the necessary 10 percent to post as bond.

Joliet police have charged Duncan with two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, wire fraud and forgery.

The criminal complaint states that Duncan committed six crimes between March 24, 2021, and May 26, 2021. According to Will County's prosecutors, Duncan applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $20,832 by representing he was the sole proprietor of a business with gross revenues of $106,000 during 2019 "when the defendant knew that such representation was false."

His theft by deception charge indicates Duncan was out of bond from the Will County Jail facing 2020 felony charges of unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver at the time he received the improper PPP loan of $20,832.

Duncan lives in the 1700 block of Hidden Oaks Court, that's near Theodore Street.

Since his incarceration, Duncan has retained private counsel, Hinsdale criminal defense attorney Robert Kerr of the Law Office of Robert Kerr.