South Suburban Residents Scammed $742K In COVID-Relief Funds: FEDS

CHICAGO — Two south suburban residents are accused of fraudulently obtaining thousands of dollars in small business loans and grants in COVID-relief funds. Te’ Dora Brown, 43, of Palos Park, is facing 13 counts of wire fraud. Her alleged accomplice, 43-year-old Christopher Scott, of Hazel Crest, has been charged with 9 counts.

In a federal indictment unsealed on March 1, Brown and Scott are accused of illegally pocketing $742,600 in small business loans and grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

From March 2020 to March 2021, Brown and Scott submitted 15 applicationsfor loans and advances under Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Programs (PPP), according to the indictment. The applications were for businesses purportedly owned and operated by Brown and Scott, under the names Little Shepherd’s Academy, Inc., Little Shepherd’s Beginners, Inc., EZ Link Golf LLC, Naper Montessori Academy, Inc. and OLG Financing Inc.

All 0f the businesses were determined to be fictitious, and contained made up statements and misstatements concerning the fake businesses’ number of employees, gross revenues, payroll, operating expenses, type of business and existence as companies with ongoing operations, the indictment said.

Once the funds were obtained, the money was transferred to a bank identified as “Bank A” in the indictment, whose servers were located outside Illinois. The feds further allege that Brown and Scott knew the businesses had no employees or payroll, and used the loan funds for their personal use and benefit.

Brown and Scott were arraigned in federal court in Chicago on March 1 before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.

If convicted, the pair faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count of wire fraud, as restitution up to $742,600.