* The Executive Ethics Commission today released a new batch of investigative reports issued by the state’s Executive Inspectors General. Click here. All but two of the 39 reports had to do with the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to help small businesses weather the international pandemic storm by lending them money to pay for payroll and operating costs. Many were eligible for loan forgiveness. 403 state employees have been dinged for violations since the OEIG began investigating the misuse of the program.

According to a search of the Ethics Commission’s website, 402 investigations into the PPP program have been reported so far.

…Adding… The commission says the actual number is 107, not 402.

* Excerpts from one such report…

The OEIG located public records from the SBA showing that Ms. Pickering received a PPP loan for a sole proprietorship for $20,829 in April 2021. The OEIG subpoenaed loan documents from the lender, which included a PPP “Borrower Application Form Revised March 18, 2021” signed in Ms. Pickering’s name and dated April 23, 2021. The “Self-employed individual” box was checked on the application, the Business Legal Name was “Michelle Pickering,” the year of establishment was listed as January 1, 2018, Ms. Pickering was identified as the sole employee, and the business was categorized under a code for “Taxi and Ridesharing Services.” The loan application contained various certifications, all reflecting the initials “MP,” which included a statement that the applicant “was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors”; a statement that the funds would be used as authorized by PPP rules; and a statement that information provided in the application and supporting documentation was “true and accurate in all material respects.”

The loan application listed the gross income amount for tax year 2020 as $99,980. That figure was used to calculate the loan amount of $20,829 (intended to cover a period up to 2.5 months). A 2020 Schedule C Profit or Loss From Business form for a “ride sharing, taxi, and limousne [sic] services” business with Ms. Pickering listed as the proprietor, which listed gross income of $99,980 and various expenses totaling $3,600, was submitted with the loan application. […]

The OEIG also obtained and reviewed the DHS personnel file for Ms. Pickering, which contained Reports of Secondary Employment submitted in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The form submitted in 2019 reported that Ms. Pickering worked as a “caregiver” for a company called RAH outside her DHS work hours. None of the other forms documented that she had reported any secondary employment. […]

On August 30, 2023, the OEIG interviewed Michelle Pickering. Ms. Pickering said that since working at DHS she has not owned a business or had any secondary employment or any other forms of income outside of her State employment. […]

Ms. Pickering denied ever owning or operating any business and ever being self-employed. Ms. Pickering also claimed that she had not applied for any loans for any businesses. When shown the PPP loan application in her name during the interview, Ms. Pickering claimed that she had not seen it before and did not fill it out, but said it had been submitted by Individual A. Ms. Pickering claimed that while she was shopping at a grocery store she came across Individual A talking to another person about obtaining a loan to start a business. Ms. Pickering claimed that at that time she was thinking about starting her own business, and Individual A told her that Individual A could obtain funding for Ms. Pickering to start her own business.

Ms. Pickering said that she had never owned a taxi or ridesharing business. However, Ms. Pickering claimed that she considered opening a business by making deliveries for warehouses called DWR. Ms. Pickering said she has a [redacted] and can only drive for approximately 10 minutes at a time, so she would have someone else do the driving for her business. Ms. Pickering claimed she never provided Individual A with her business idea or possible business name. Ms. Pickering confirmed she only had an idea for starting a business and it was never in operation or earned any money.

Ms. Pickering confirmed she gave Individual A all her personal information while at the grocery store, including her State ID, Social Security Number (SSN), phone number, email address, and bank account information. Ms. Pickering claimed that she only had that one interaction at the grocery store with Individual A, and she never obtained any contact information for Individual A or ever met or spoke with Individual A again. […]

Ms. Pickering admitted that none of the information on the loan application and associated documents, aside from her personal information, was true and accurate, and that her receipt of the PPP loan funds was a violation of State ethics rules.

This third party claim is a common refrain in the reports.

* Conclusion…

Regardless of the ease of procuring these PPP funds, this was not free money for the taking. These loans, as with any other, required truthful information as a basis for approval. State employees are expected, at minimum, to maintain the public’s trust and confidence. Misappropriating such funds is far from being ethical, professional, acting with integrity, or conducting oneself in a manner that reflects favorably upon the State. Accordingly, the OEIG recommends that DHS terminate Michelle Pickering.

Pickering is not listed on the current state employee database.

* Some of these folks are being prosecuted. From a few days ago…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced today his office obtained a guilty plea in a case against a Chicago man who fraudulently received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan totaling approximately $14,582 while employed by the Illinois State Police (ISP).

The Attorney General’s office prosecuted Ravonn Hankins, 34, who pleaded guilty to one count of theft, a Class 2 felony. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mariano R. Reyna sentenced Hankins on Thursday to two years of second chance probation and 30 hours of community service. Hankins has also paid $14,582 in restitution.