Oak Lawn Woman Pleads Guilty To PPP Loan Scheme While State Employee

CHICAGO – An Oak Lawn woman was ordered to pay restitution for funds she received in a Paycheck Protection Program loan scheme while employed by the State of Illinois, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced.

Arnita Rudd, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of theft by deception, a Class 2 felony, who fraudulently received over $20,000. In addition, DuPage County Judge Mia McPherson sentenced Rudd to two years of second chance probation and ordered her to perform 30 hours of community service. Rudd also was ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution, fines and fees.

In June 2021, the attorney general’s office claimed Rudd fraudulently received a PPP loan for more than $20,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration for her business “Arnita Rudd, doing business as VARS Transportation.” Prosecutors also said Rudd falsely claimed the business earned a total gross income of more than $96,000 in 2019. She is also alleged to have applied for and received loan forgiveness once she was employed at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

Raoul’s office investigated and co-prosecuted this case with DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s office.

“The Paycheck Protection Program was created and implemented to help struggling businesses survive in extremely difficult circumstances and not as a personal piggy bank by those with no legitimate need who were looking to game the system,” Berlin said. “I thank Attorney General Raoul and his team not only for their efforts in this case, but also for their ongoing work in rooting out white collar crimes, particularly those involving government employees, as we saw in this case.”