Until the Sun-Times sued, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office refused to release records regarding an investigation by his agency, the FBI and the Chicago Police Department into possible COVID-19 relief fraud by Cook County Jail detainees.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file photo
Recorded conversations show that dozens of inmates at the Cook County Jail conspired to loot the federal paycheck coverage program and government COVID-19 relief systems at the start of the pandemic, according to documents received via the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cook County sheriff’s officials opened an investigation in 2020 into inmates using jail phones to discuss various kinds of financial fraud and found they were targeting state coronavirus unemployment insurance programs, federal business relief programs and personal bank accounts.
Many inmates spoke of tens of thousands of dollars.
Despite months of conspiracy, none of the inmates have been arrested or charged with fraud in connection with the plans, according to Cook County Sheriff’s Office Tom Dart, who in reaction to a complaint filed through the Sun-TimesArray loads many pages. Investigators’ notes on recorded calls in which detainees were suspected of conspiring to commit money crimes.
The sheriff withheld the names of the inmates and others they spoke to, raising privacy concerns. Other data has also been heavily redacted.
The lawsuit came after the sheriff denied a public recording request from the newspaper on Aug. 22, saying release of the recordings would “interfere with the FBI’s open investigation into this incident and similar incidents. ” A Dart spokesman said the FBI had requested the denial.
Sheriff’s officials contacted the FBI and U. S. Attorney’s Office in 2020 when they discovered that detainees were engaging in potential federal budget-related fraud across jurisdictions and across state lines, the spokesperson said, referring questions to the FBI.
The FBI says it “will not comment on the nature, lifestyles or non-lifestyles of any investigation that may be conducted. ”
During the pandemic, fraud was rampant in state unemployment insurance systems and in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Last year, the inspector general for the SBA, which oversaw PPP and Economic Injury Disaster loans, estimated that at least 17% of the $1.2 trillion given out by those programs was obtained through fraud.
In the federal penal system, according to a government estimate, at least $250 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance has been paid to inmates across the country.
Cook County Jail inmates have been recorded conspiring to defraud pandemic relief programs.
Sun-Times Record Photo
In Chicago, many public sector workers are among those suspected of pandemic aid fraud, but few have faced criminal charges. One exception, two Chicago police officers charged in a federal indictment with stealing more than $2 million in PPP money. One of the officials retired two weeks before filing charges last year.
During the pandemic, the government firehosed money into the economy through such relief programs without sufficient “guard rails” to prevent fraud, according to testimony before Congress. Despite the widespread fraud, supporters say the approach kept the economy from nosediving.
Although the fraudulent schemes began in 2020, data about them continues to come to light nearly four years later.
Sheriff’s records show inmates temporarily learned how to apply for pandemic government benefits with fake credentials. They also figured out how to illegally acquire bank account data for other plans.
Inmates, mostly men, used to ask their outdoor girlfriends and wives to dedicate their monetary crimes. In some cases this included threats of violence.
“I’m forcing you to do it now,” one detainee said in a recorded call on June 6, 2020. “If you don’t, something bad will happen to you. “
The user at the end of the line said, “I fear for my life. »
Laughing, the inmate replied, “I know. That’s why you have to do what I tell you.
During the calls, other people detained in prisons said they were collecting cash to pay bail and lawyers. Those detained said they needed up to $50,000 to be released on bail.
One said that, “when he has a total $20k, he is going to hire a new attorney to get him a bond, then turn over that bond slip to his new attorney for his fees,” according to an investigator’s report.
The detainees also were putting thousands of dollars into their jail accounts, a source of power behind bars.
In 2020, before the coin bonus ends, they will be able to deposit a bonus into their accounts. They will also be able to buy food and other items from the commissioner and send coins to their circle of family and friends.
“What stood out to us in those cases was the fact that they represented an increase in cases of potential fraud,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said. “We are reviewing the budget that comes into criminal accounts on a daily basis and if we locate anything suspicious, we will investigate. “
“We are not seeing anything similar currently,” the spokesman said.
In some cases, however, investigators found that large transfers to detainees’ accounts came from valid sources.
According to investigation reports, some detainees said they were looking to start a business with the proceeds of their fraud. One of them thought that when it was delivered, it would protect the safety of the hashish dispensaries.
They also spoke about buying firearms.
One inmate talked about purchasing Glock pistols. The user on the other side of the line said, “Everyone is waiting for their check to be deposited so they can purchase it,” according to an investigator’s report.
Sources have told the Sun-Times that gun possession sharply rose in parts of Chicago during the pandemic because gang members were flush with cash from defrauding government relief programs intended to help struggling businesses.
During the recorded calls, inmates discussed other tactics for spending their fraudulent earnings. Their wish lists included houses, cars like a “Benz” and a drone. Some were also worried that their girlfriends would go shopping for groceries with the money.
In addition to discussions of fraud, the recordings offer a glimpse into prison life. In one call, a man said his fellow inmates were drinking hand sanitizer, possibly containing alcohol. Another mourned the shooting death of a friend in the city center. One was on the phone with her friend while she was dealing drugs with a child in the back seat of her car. Another inmate talked to a guy who said he had been on the street “looting. ”
Some talked about then-President Donald Trump, who signed the law creating the pandemic relief programs aimed at inmates. One said he hoped Trump would be re-elected in 2020 because thanks to him there is so much cash available.
Another said he wasn’t afraid of getting caught and that “the feds couldn’t touch him,” according to one report.
In all, the Sun-Times obtained reports about the phone conversations of 27 Cook County Jail detainees suspected of engaging in fraud, though some of the documents were completely blacked out.
Many of the inmates involved in the calls, and the other people they spoke to, seemed to know a lot about how the banking formula and pandemic relief formulas work.
On June 16, 2020, one inmate, who chatted on the “dark web” buying groceries on a site called BriansClub to obtain stolen bank details from other people, said he was looking to buy account data only in the zip codes of “other rich people. ” “. friends,” in places like Highland Park, Wheaton and Naperville.
“We don’t want Chase,” he said of the banking giant. “Too much security.”
On July 21, 2020, another detainee talked about buying information for several bank accounts, one that had $70,000 in it and another with $163,000.
A photo from the sheriff’s investigation showing what appears to be a Cook County Jail detainee’s notebook with a list of credit bureaus and shipping companies.
Cook County sheriff’s office
Such fraud — called “cracking cards” on the streets — has been the subject of hip-hop songs in which some rappers have spelled out how to pull it off. The Chicago rapper G Herbo was convicted of using information from stolen credit cards to pay for private jets and designer puppies.
Jail detainees also asked their girlfriends to file for PPP loans and pandemic unemployment insurance benefits from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, California, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and other states.
Indiana “practically gives away money,” one said.
According to sheriff’s records, investigators were looking for key words in the conversations. “Gaffle,” they said, means a lot of money. “Dollars” means 1,000, so $10 is equal to $10,000. “Salt” means freezing an account. And “breaking a V” means buying a car.
“They use basketball players’ names as adjectives to describe whether they have something; I have a Larry Bird right now,” one report said.
The investigation was opened on June 15, 2020, according to sheriff’s records, which show the FBI and Chicago police were also involved.
On August 4, 2020, researchers met to discuss the strategies used to try to borrow money. Records show investigators subpoenaed bank records, which were not included in documents the Sun-Times received from the sheriff’s office.
“Over the years, we have solved countless crimes from recorded open conversations,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said. “There’s not much that can surprise us about the criminal phone system. »