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

CHICAGO (CBS) — Six existing and former U.S. Postal Provider workforce have been charged with fraudulently acquiring loans for enterprises that did not really exist.

The 6 defendants ended up billed as portion of an investigation by the Illinois Legal professional General’s Taskforce on Unemployment Added benefits Insurance policies Fraud. They all applied for a variety of governing administration loans and support during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Attorney General’s office.

In addition to attempting to get loans from the Compact Small business Administration for firms that ended up not real, four of the defendants are accused of filing for fraudulent unemployment advantages when they ended up seriously operating 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.

Among them, the 6 defendants are billed with extra than 65 felony counts – which includes theft by deception, condition benefits fraud, personal loan fraud, wire fraud, and forgery.

Lay and Beck – who are married to every single other and both nevertheless perform for the Postal Service – are also billed with scheming to steal $25,000 in financial effect payments from inhabitants in the South Shore neighborhood.

The Legal professional General’s place of work began investigating when the Postal Service’s Business of the Inspector Normal claimed that some workers were collecting unemployment whilst functioning and receiving compensated by the Postal Assistance. A joint federal and condition investigation followed.