Joliet man indicted on $20,833 pandemic relief fraud charge

A Joliet man has been indicted on charges alleging he fraudulently obtained $20,833 from a federal program that helped businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Dec. 19, a Will County grand jury returned an indictment against Anthony Moffett-Morgan, 24. He is charged with theft, loan fraud and wire fraud involving the Paycheck Protection Program, which was established to help businesses meet payroll during the pandemic.

The indictment alleged Moffett-Morgan fraudulently obtained a $20,833 loan from the Paycheck Protection Program by representing that his independent contractor business had $101,268 in gross revenues, when he allegedly knew “such representation was false.”

The case against Moffett-Morgan was investigated by Crest Hill Police Detective Conor Sweeney.

Crest Hill police investigations into Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud have resulted in cases filed against at least three other people since 2022.

Two of those cases still are pending in court.

Those cases involve Jeremy Person, 26, of Elkhart, Indiana, who’s charged with $41,666 in loan fraud, and Ariel Roberson, 33, of Joliet, who’s charged with $18,477 in loan fraud.

The case against Tyrielle Gordon, 30, of Crest Hill concluded on March 27, 2023, with Gordon’s plea of guilty to loan fraud. Other charges were dropped as part of a plea deal.

In a court filing, prosecutors said Gordon applied for a $20,833 loan by “using false information in the application” to receive the loan. He was sentenced to serve 50% of a four-year prison sentence and credited with 113 days spent in jail.

Gordon was required to pay $20,833 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which administered the Paycheck Protection Program.

Gordon was also required to pay $5,068 in restitution to the state after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits.

As of Thursday, Gordon still owes $313 in restitution, court records show.