In a federal court case, a Chicago Police sergeant has been accused of fraudulently securing over $41,000 in COVID-relief funds for a non-existent bakery.
Brandi Wright, 44, faces charges of wire fraud for allegedly submitting two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications in 2021 under the guise of a bakery she claimed to own. According to prosecutors, the bakery never existed. The applications reportedly included false information regarding gross revenue, payroll requirements, and operational costs. Each loan amounted to $20,831, totaling $41,662, which Wright is accused of using for unrelated purposes.
Last year, Wright earned $142,688 as a sergeant with the Chicago Police Department.
This prosecution aligns with U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’s initiative to reevaluate COVID-19 fraud cases, especially those involving federal benefits and entitlement programs.
The charges against Wright were filed three weeks following the Chicago Office of Inspector General’s first-quarter report, which concluded nine investigations where Chicago police officers were found to have fraudulently obtained forgivable PPP loans. Although the OIG does not publicly name employees, one case in the report mirrors the charges against Wright: an officer who secured forgiveness for two federal PPP loans amounting to $41,666.
The Chicago Police Department has tentatively agreed with the OIG’s recommendations to dismiss eight officers and blacklist them from future city employment due to PPP fraud. Another officer resigned amid an investigation after allegedly lying about obtaining two fraudulent PPP loans totaling $41,666 before joining the department. This officer also allegedly submitted false documents to secure loan forgiveness, lied during the CPD hiring process, and failed to attend a scheduled OIG interview. The CPD agreed to add this officer to the do-not-hire list.
The OIG report also highlighted a 10th city employee, an aldermanic staffer, accused of fraudulently obtaining $20,833 through PPP loan and forgiveness applications. Investigators allege the staffer filed a false police report claiming identity theft and made a similar false claim to the U.S. Small Business Administration as a cover-up, later misleading OIG investigators about their involvement in the loan application.
The OIG recommended that the supervising alderman dismiss the staffer and prevent future city employment. The alderman missed the response deadline and, when eventually replying, did not indicate whether the employee would be terminated. In a written response, the alderman stated they “take the matters outlined in your report seriously,” and assured that “appropriate steps are being taken to ensure compliance with all applicable policies and expectations moving forward.”
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