Indiana man charged in Will County with $41,666 in pandemic fraud in Crest Hill

An Indiana man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining $41,666 in pandemic relief money and $1,126 in unemployment benefits in Crest Hill, court records show.

On Sept. 27, Will County Judge Art Smigielski signed a warrant for the arrest of Jeremy Person, 26, of Elkhart, Indiana, on charges of theft, loan fraud, wire fraud and state benefits fraud.

The Paycheck Protection Program fraud case was investigated by Crest Hill police Detective Conor Sweeney, who swore out the criminal complaint against Person, according to court records.

The criminal complaint alleged that Person fraudulently obtained two Paycheck Protection Program loans that amounted to $41,666 by falsely claiming his independent contractor business had gross revenue of $101,268 in 2019.

Person received the loan funds April 9, 2021, and April 18, 2021, according to the complaint.

Person also was charged with fraudulently obtaining $1,126 in unemployment benefits between April 14, 2021, and April 28, 2021. The complaint alleged that because Person had applied for the Paycheck Protection Program loans, he was “ineligible for unemployment benefits.”

The Paycheck Protection Program was created to help struggling businesses make payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fraud occurs when an applicant sends a falsified application to a bank, the bank sends that request for approval to the federal government, and the bank sends the money to the applicant, according to the website for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.