PHOENIX (3TV / CBS 5) – A former Phoenix police officer faces federal fraud charges after investigators said she submitted a bogus loan application and received more than $ 1.2 million in government loans.
Toni Richardson, then a Phoenix Police Officer, is accused of submitting a bogus Paycheck Protection Program loan application to a bank and using the money to fund loans. personal expenses and transfer them to different accounts. The loan was originally intended to help businesses struggling with the aftermath of COVID-19.
Richardson and another man, Willie Mitchell, used a social club disguised as a bogus company to submit the claim, which included fake job and payroll numbers, according to the federal indictment. Officials say the company did not have a payroll or registered employees. Richardson and Mitchell said the loan would be used to “retain workers, maintain payroll, make mortgage interest payments, lease payments and utility payments.”
The loan was then deposited into the account and the two set up a fake payroll in order to be eligible for the loan. Between March and June, Richardson and Mitchell repeatedly withdrew over $ 15,000 from the loan account.
The Phoenix Police Department said after finding out about the allegations, it began firing Richardson. However, she resigned before that happened, officials said. Richardson and Mitchell face federal charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and transactional money laundering.
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