Investigations Continue in Pandemic Relief Program Abuses by Public Employees
As we have previously covered, there have been numerous instances of highly publicized cases around the state of Illinois and city of Chicago detailing alleged fraud perpetrated by public employees, particularly as it relates to PPP and other Covid-era pandemic relief programs. At the end of the most fiscal year, the Office of Executive Inspector General had reportedly found “reasonable cause” into 378 investigations that state employees had acquired PPP loans “based on falsified information” with many others being investigated for similar conduct through the Cook County’s independent inspector general and the Cook County sheriff’s office. Some employees faced termination, others resigned once they were under investigation, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has criminal prosecuted numerous cases based on the investigations of the OEIG, with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul saying, “I will continue to hold individuals, especially government workers, accountable if they exploited critical aid programs for their own financial benefit.” In regards to PPP fraud, the statute of limitations was previously extended from 5 years for this type of fraud to 10 years early on in response to claims of widespread abuse, so expect the number of cases to continue even with the passage of time from the pandemic.
OIG Report Highlights Financial and Other Abuses in Chicago Public Schools
Fraud by public employees is not confined to Covid related schemes, as detailed in a recent Office of Inspector General report of the Chicago Public Schools recently made clear. One of the stories highlighted in the report was a multiyear fraud by a former CPS principal and network chief, Brian Metlcalf, who worked with a CPS vendor, Kimberly Maddox, to falsely billed the district they worked in for services never rendered from 2012-2017 before splitting the fraudulently obtained money. The abuse only stopped in 2018 when Metcalf moved to supervise an Indian Charter school, where they received almost $1 million in fraudulently billed services, with both parties pleading guilty to federal charges related to the scheme. In addition, reports by the inspector general’s office detailed waste and abuse on staff and student travel in recent years, along with misconduct by others, some of which, while relatively small figures, are nonetheless troubling. CPS Inspector General Philip Wagenknecht explained that “Some of these fraud cases don’t have huge price tags on them, but tens of thousands or a hundred thousand of public money is too much to be stolen or misused. It is by no means small potatoes.” A reminder that any accusation of wrongdoing or even an indictment against any public or private employee is just that, an accusation, and that in many instances cases or investigations are started through misunderstandings, false accusations, or can otherwise be misguided attempts at keeping others accountable for perceived wrongdoing. Anyone accused of any wrongdoing should immediately contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to ensure that any investigation is halted in its tracks if able before the individual experiences reputational harm, or that their rights are properly defended.
