Six current, former U.S. Postal employees accused of collecting fraudulent unemployment benefits, business loans

CHICAGO (CBS) — 6 existing and previous U.S. Postal Company employees have been charged with fraudulently acquiring loans for corporations that did not definitely exist.

The six defendants had been charged as section of an investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Taskforce on Unemployment Gains Insurance plan Fraud. They all utilized for a assortment of federal government financial loans and aid throughout the top of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Legal professional General’s workplace.

In addition to hoping to get loans from the Compact Small business Administration for businesses that had been not authentic, four of the defendants are accused of filing for fraudulent unemployment positive aspects while they had been really working for the Postal Services all together.

The defendants are:

• Davonte Kendall, 30, of Lansing
• Bria Taylor, 27, of Berwyn
• Imani Butler, 29, of Dixmoor
• Raven Daniel, 28, of Bellwood
• Louis K. Lay, Jr., 32, of Chicago
• Erica M. Beck, 34, of Chicago.

Amongst them, the six defendants are charged with additional than 65 felony counts – such as theft by deception, point out positive aspects fraud, financial loan fraud, wire fraud, and forgery.

Lay and Beck – who are married to every other and each nonetheless operate for the Postal Service – are also billed with scheming to steal $25,000 in economic impact payments from residents in the South Shore community.

The Attorney General’s office environment began investigating when the Postal Service’s Business office of the Inspector Typical described that some staff have been accumulating unemployment even though doing the job and obtaining paid by the Postal Services. A joint federal and state investigation adopted.