2 more Cook County sheriff's correctional officers accused of PPP fraud

Sun-Times file

Two Cook County sheriff’s correctional officers have been indicted on charges of defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program, bringing the total number of the county’s jail guards accused of ripping off the program to three.

Officer John Williams received two PPP loans for $20,833 each from the fraud-plagued program created to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. On his application, he said he owned a barbershop.

Kiara Brown also got two loans, for $20,000 and $19,790, for a nail salon and a beauty salon.

An internal sheriff’s investigation found no records that Williams or Brown owned a business or disclosed secondary jobs to the sheriff’s office, according to a spokesperson for the office. The sheriff’s office forwarded its findings to the Illinois attorney general’s office, which got an indictment on May 16 against Williams in Will County criminal court and against Brown on May 15 in Cook County criminal court.

They’re charged with theft by deception, loan fraud, wire fraud, forgery and income tax fraud.

Williams and Brown have been “de-deputized” and reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of the criminal prosecution and the ongoing internal investigation, the spokesperson said.

On May 8, Jareli Reyes, 32, was accused of fraudulently obtaining $41,666 in PPP loans in 2021. Reyes, who resigned last year from her job as a Cook County correctional officer, was charged with theft, income-tax fraud and wire fraud. On her application, she said was the sole proprietor of a security guard and patrol business.

The sheriff’s spokesperson says the office’s investigation into other potential cases of PPP abuse is continuing.