Karl Ferrell, Joliet Township Trustee, Faces Income Tax Fraud

JOLIET, IL — After spending two hours in the Will County Jail on Thursday, Joliet Township Trustee Karl Ferrell was set free after being charged by the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow with 16 felony crimes, including allegations of Paycheck Protection Program theft.

The 42-year-old Ferrell faces two counts of theft by deception, two counts of loan fraud, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of forgery, one count of theft, two counts of state benefits fraud and five counts of failure to file an income tax return.

The arrest warrant indicated the criminal investigation was led by the United States Secret Service.

Will County Judge Brian Barrett set a moderate bail for Ferrell at $30,000. Ferrell came up with $3,000 cash, which is 10 percent, to regain his freedom at 3:58 p.m. Thursday.

Ferrell lives in the 500 block of Joliet's Oakview Avenue.

According to the criminal complaint, Ferrell is accused of having represented that his sole proprietor contractor business had gross sales, gross profit and gross income of $105,000 in 2019 "when the defendant knew that such representation were false."

Court documents state that Ferrell, on March 11, 2021, received $18,790 for his false application to the Small Business Administration in order to secure a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

The forgery charge states that Ferrell delivered a 2019 Form 1040 Schedule C document to Cross River Bank capable of defrauding another, "which represented that the defendant's business, a sole proprietor contract business, had gross sales, gross profit and gross income of $105,000 for the year 2019 when the defendant knew that such representations were false."

Another felony count, state benefits fraud, accuses Ferrell of receiving unemployment benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security of $11,203 by committing fraud, "during which time he had received the proceeds of Paycheck Protection Program loans that totaled $39,623 ... as part of the CARES Act."

Ferrell's last five charges accuse him of failing to file an Illinois income tax return for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Ferrell has been the subject of several newspaper articles, including one from August in The Times Weekly regarding Ferrell's efforts to remain an elected official on the Joliet Township board of trustees even though he has a 2010 felony conviction related to drug possession.