A Roselle married couple have been accused of receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans while also receiving federal disability benefits and working for the U.S. Postal Service.
Genesis Sherrod, 46, is charged with theft of government property by deception of more than $10,000, theft by deception of more than $10,000, loan fraud, theft by deception of more than $500, forgery, and income tax fraud.
Randall Walker, 55, is charged with theft by deception of more than $10,000, loan fraud, forgery, and income tax fraud.
The charges allege the activity happened in 2020 and 2021.
The charges were filed in November. The two appeared at court hearings in January and were arraigned Wednesday, according to DuPage County court records.
The charges allege Sherrod and Walker were both on disability leave and earning federal disability benefits from their jobs with the Postal Service when they each fraudulently applied for two PPP loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration by claiming that they owned businesses that did not exist.
According to Raoul’s office, in 2021, Sherrod received $49,999, and Walker received $41,666 but did not disclose the loans on their federal benefit forms.
“It is shameful that two federal employees would take advantage of the federal COVID-era assistance programs intended to help small businesses and unemployed Americans survive the pandemic,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news release. “Federal disability benefits and PPP loans are intended to provide support to vulnerable Americans, and I will continue to hold public workers accountable for using these critical programs as their own slush funds.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General.
