6 Springfield-area residents accused of defrauding federal Paycheck Protection Program

Five Springfield residents and one Lincoln man have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they allegedly defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program.

Phillip Lovelace Sr., 51, Phillip Lovelace Jr., 32, Richard Thompson, 42, Iesha Mack, 23, and Krystal Roy, 48, all of Springfield, and Alex Jennings, 40, of Lincoln, were charged Aug. 16 with four counts of wire fraud relating to the PPP, with the Lovelaces also being charged with counts of wire fraud relating to unemployment benefits in Arizona.

The indictment says the offenses allegedly began in July 2020, with the pattern continuing through May 2021, with each of the crimes being committed in Sangamon County. According to Small Business Association data, each of the six received a series of PPP loans totaling $20,833 in March and April 2021 from two non-bank lenders; Fountainhead SBF LLC and Harvest Small Business Finance.

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A study of PPP loans conducted last year by the University of Texas found that Harvest had an exceptionally high rate of suspicious PPP loans that could be fraudulent.

An investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, with help from the Springfield Police Department, helped to uncover the alleged fraud.

Lovelace Jr. is currently being held in the Sangamon County Jail on murder charges. He faces charges in the beating death of Carl Evans Jr., 57.

Each of the six is slated to appear in federal court next week. If convicted, each of them could spend up to 30 years in prison.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: 5 Springfield residents, Lincoln man indicted on wire fraud charges