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

CHICAGO (CBS) — Six present-day and previous U.S. Postal Company employees have been charged with fraudulently obtaining financial loans for corporations that did not really exist.

The six defendants have been billed as part of an investigation by the Illinois Legal professional General’s Taskforce on Unemployment Benefits Coverage Fraud. They all utilized for a range of governing administration loans and guidance in the course of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance to the Lawyer General’s workplace.

In addition to making an attempt to get financial loans from the Compact Business enterprise Administration for companies that have been not serious, four of the defendants are accused of filing for fraudulent unemployment added benefits while they were actually doing the job for the Postal Service 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.

Involving them, the 6 defendants are billed with a lot more than 65 felony counts – such as theft by deception, state benefits fraud, bank loan fraud, wire fraud, and forgery.

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

The Lawyer General’s business office began investigating when the Postal Service’s Business office of the Inspector Basic documented that some staff members were being accumulating unemployment while doing the job and receiving compensated by the Postal Assistance. A joint federal and condition investigation adopted.