SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — A federal grand jury has returned indictments against 19 central Illinois United States Postal Service employees and former employees, charging them with fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
The PPP provided federally backed funds to small businesses that were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.
The program was implemented by the SBA and administered by third-party lenders.
The PPP was enacted via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, an economic bill that passed in March 2020 in response to the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.