A woman who once worked as a state revenue auditor is accused of buying an Italian luxury vehicle with fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan funds to launder money. Allegations were leveled against in a July 15 indictment returned by a grand jury. Hicks faces charges of money laundering, wire fraud, loan fraud, financial institution fraud and other offenses.
The charges in the indictment were by Attorney General . His office is prosecuting the case. Hicks worked as a revenue auditor for the Illinois Department of Revenue, according to state salary records.
A spokesperson for the department said she no longer works there. The Cook County indictment alleged Hicks “purchased an Alfa Romeo vehicle with fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan funds.” Alfa Romeo is an automobile manufacturer based in Italy that produces Italian sports cars and SUVs.
The indictment alleged Hicks bought the vehicle to commit the offense of money laundering. The Paycheck Protection Program was implemented to help struggling businesses across the nation during the . But the program has been beset by numerous .
The U.S. Small Administration is estimated to have disbursed about $64 billion in potentially fraudulent PPP loans, from the SBA’s inspector general’s office.
Raoul’s office alleged Hicks fraudulently obtained $41,665 in PPP loans for two businesses that did not exist. The indictment alleged the names of those two businesses as Shepale Hicks and Pretty Fit. Neither business wa.