Attorney General Kwame Raoul is taking a stand against former government employees' abuse of pandemic relief funds. In a recent development, Raoul charged two DuPage County women for allegedly scheming to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). According to reports from the Illinois Attorney General's office, Candice Brumfield, 34, of Woodridge, and Arnita Rudd, 63, of Oak Lawn are facing serious felony charges, including theft by deception, loan fraud, wire fraud, forgery, and income tax fraud. Brumfield's next appearance in court is slated for July 31, while Rudd will face the judge on August 5.
Brumfield, who was employed by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) at the time of the alleged crimes, is accused of applying for a PPP loan of over $20,000. She claimed this was for a nursing or residential care business but was, in reality, reportedly employed by the state. In a scheme to further defraud the system, she claimed to have requested loan forgiveness in November 2021. Rudd, on her part, has been charged with somehow taking more than $20,000 for her business "Arnita C. Rudd, doing business as VARS Transportation," falsely reporting significant gross income in 2019, as per the Illinois Attorney General's office.
Stemming from the same vein of ensuring public trust, the office of the Attorney General and the DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin's office are collaboratively prosecuting the cases against Brumfield and Rudd. Berlin highlighted the damages wrought by such fraudulent activities as he stated, "The money available through the Paycheck Protection Program was intended to help businesses stay afloat and not to line the pockets of dishonest actors, as alleged against these defendants," as stated by the Illinois Attorney General's office. The actions against Brumfield and Rudd join a growing list of similar prosecutions against government employees accused of exploiting pandemic relief efforts, as the Attorney General's office continues to systematically work towards holding all negligent parties to account.
Additionally, the allegations bring to the fore the importance of monitoring and mitigation strategies to prevent fraud in government loan programs. Defendants in such cases are, however, reminded that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Deputy Bureau Chief Jonas Harger and Assistant Attorneys General Haley Bookhout, Timothy Nimrod, and Mara Somlo lead the charge on prosecutions for Raoul's Public Integrity Bureau in a diligent quest to uphold the integrity of public funds and services.
