After claiming to be barber, Peoria man sentenced to prison for COVID relief fraud

Andy Kravetz, Journal Star
·2 min read
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PEORIA – A 28-year-old Peoria man was sentenced Friday to one year in federal prison for fraudulently taking COVID relief money.

Samuel M. Powell, II, 28, who lived on West Butler Street, admitted in U.S. District Court in Peoria to stealing government money through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was established through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Powell had applied for a PPP loan on Feb. 22, 2021, saying he had operated a barber shop since 2018 and had one employee with a total payroll expense of $98,000. He received a $20,000 PPP loan and withdrew all the money in cash the next day. On June 25, 2021, Powell filed a Loan Forgiveness Application, certifying that he used the funds per PPP rules, and the loan was forgiven.

However, Powell was not a licensed barber and did not own a barber shop.

More:Search which employers got Paycheck Protection Program money around Peoria

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A federal grand jury indicted him on charges of theft of government funds last December, and he pleaded guilty in April. He was initially released on bond, but was taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals after Powell removed his electronic monitoring equipment and failed to appear for his hearing in February.

After Powell is released from prison, U.S. District Judge James Shadid ordered him to serve two years on supervised release – the federal version of probation – and to pay $20,000 in restitution to the government as well as $350 for damaging his electronic monitoring equipment.

The one-year sentence is not eligible for any time off. Sometimes, a judge will give a person a year and a day so that they are eligible to get up to 15% off their sentence. Not so here, according to court records.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and FBI investigated the case.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria man sentenced to prison for Paycheck Protection Program fraud