A man from Hazel Crest, Illinois, has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $550,000 in small business loans through programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents, Christopher Scott submitted multiple fraudulent applications in 2020 and 2021 for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL). The applications were made on behalf of businesses that did not exist or were not operating. Authorities said Scott included false information about business revenues, payrolls, and expenses to secure the funds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that Scott and others used the loan money for personal spending at luxury retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Jared Jewelers, Von Maur, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Scott pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal wire fraud charge. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo sentenced him to five years and ten months in prison and ordered restitution of $567,333.
The announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Dai Tran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office; with assistance from the SBA Office of Inspector General.
“Put simply, Scott’s crime was motivated by greed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro G. Ortega argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “This offense was not a simple lapse in judgment, or a crime born out of economic poverty or necessity. It was, at least, a year-long scheme to fraudulently obtain free money from the government.”
“The government programs exploited in this case were intended to help struggling small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic,” Secret Service SAIC Tran said. “Instead, this man pilfered more than half a million dollars from these programs—and by extension, taxpayers—to go on an outrageous high-end spending spree to benefit himself. I’m proud of the work the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois did to bring justice in this case.”
