Former state revenue auditor latest charged in alleged PPP fraud

A Will County woman became the latest public employee charged in a sweeping investigation targeting Paycheck Protection Program fraud that has rocked several state agencies.

The Attorney General’s office announced the numerous felony charges against Shepale Hicks, of Monee, on Thursday, the same day she pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including money laundering, financial institution fraud, wire fraud and forgery.

Hicks was originally indicted last month in Cook County Circuit Court, according to court records.

Authorities said that Hicks, who was then a revenue auditor for the state Department of Revenue, applied for two pandemic-era PPP loans meant to support struggling businesses, claiming she owned two businesses. She received payments in August 2020 and May 2021, totaling $41,665.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Hicks’ businesses didn’t exist.

“It is outrageous anyone, especially a state employee at an agency tasked with holding taxpayers accountable for following revenue laws, would take advantage of COVID-era assistance programs,” Raoul said in a news release.

A spokesperson for the IDOR confirmed that Hicks no longer worked for the office.

Earlier this year, the Office of Executive Inspector General released reports detailing rampant PPP fraud by public employees, with 275 separate instances of PPP wrongdoing. The alleged thefts totaled more than $7 million in public funds, according to the IG’s April newsletter.

In one example, an employee with the Department of Human Services admitted to state investigators that she “did what everyone else was doing at the time in order to get money,” according to the IG reports. “She said that she did not use loan proceeds for any kind of business expenses because she does not have any business expenses.”

While hundreds of employees have lost their jobs, Raoul’s office has charged 16 Chicago area residents who worked for agencies such as the state Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Hicks’ is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 27.