CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago, Illinois, returned an indictment in October, which was unsealed today, charging a Chicago resident with 12 counts of wire fraud for allegedly fraudulently obtaining at least $2.7 million in small business loans and grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to the indictment, beginning around April 2020, and continuing until around November 2020, QUAMDEEN AMUWO, 40, of Chicago, participated in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The EIDL program provided loan assistance and grants to cover working capital and other operating expenses for businesses suffering economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the scheme, the indictment alleges Amuwo submitted to the SBA numerous applications for loans on behalf of businesses and entities purportedly owned by Amuwo and others. The applications allegedly contained materially false statements and misrepresentations concerning the purported entities’ owners, employees, revenues, costs, and date of establishment. Further, as part of the scheme, Amuwo is alleged to have made false statements regarding the applying entities’ gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees for the 12 months prior to the onset of the pandemic, and provided false state registration and tax documents. Amuwo is also alleged to have submitted personal identifying information for purported business owners, including names, social security numbers, and fake state identification cards that he knew did not belong to a real person.
The indictment alleges that Amuwo caused the SBA to disburse at least $2.7 million in EIDL loans and grants into bank accounts controlled by him and others. Amuwo allegedly used the money to make cash withdrawals, transfers, and purchases for his personal benefit.
Amuwo is set for arraignment in federal court in Chicago on November 28, 2022, before Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and John S. Morales, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Substantial assistance was provided by the SBA-Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or filing an online complaint at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
