Former DeKalb County Board member, sheriff’s deputy indicted on PPP loan fraud

A former DeKalb County Board member and a former DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy are accused of defrauding the federal COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program in multiple charges filed in DeKalb County Court.

Savannah Ilenikhena and Bartholomew Ilenikhena, a married couple, were each charged and indicted on one count of loan fraud and one count of theft of between $10,000 and $100,000, court records show. Those charges, Class 2 felonies, are each punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Bartholomew Ilenikhena, a former corrections deputy with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, resigned from his position in May, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Burgh told Shaw Local on Tuesday.

Savannah Ilenikhena, a former Republican DeKalb County Board member for District 5, left her role as an elected official at the end of June. When she announced her intention to resign, she told Shaw Local she was stepping down for personal reasons and looked forward to spending more time with family.

On July 11, both of them were indicted on five charges filed by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, according to court documents. They were arrested last week and have since been released.

In those documents, prosecutors allege that Savannah and Bartholomew Ilenikhena submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection borrower application form and a fraudulent PPP loan forgiveness application form between April and October 2021.

They were also indicted on three counts of forgery, a class 3 felony, according to court documents.

In one forgery count, they are accused of delivering a rapid finance application with false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Bartholomew Ilenikhena stated in the application that the sole proprietorship business named “Bartholomew Ilenikhena” had a gross income of $10,482 in 2019, according to the indictment.

Savannah Ilenikhena stated in her application that the business named “Savannah Ware” had a gross income of $12,255 in 2019, according to an indictment against her.

In a second forgery count, Savannah Ilenikhena is alleged to have presented a financial institution with a Paycheck Protection Program borrower application form that falsely stated that a business named “Savannah Ilenikhena” had a gross income of $83,746 in 2019.

Bartholomew was indicted on a second forgery count that mirrored his wife’s indictment. In his case, he is alleged to have falsely stated his business, named “Bartholomew Ilenikhena,” had a gross income of $89,195 in 2019, according to the indictment.

In a third count of forgery, Bartholomew Ilenikhena is accused of falsely stating in a Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application form that his business spent $13,585 on payroll.

Savannah Ilenikhena was similarly indicted for allegedly falsely stating that her business, “Savannah Ilenikhena,” spent $12,998 on payroll for a Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application form.

Savannah Ilenikhena did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday, nor did the law offices representing her and her husband.

Neither Savannah Ilenikhena nor Barthollomew Ilenikhena have previously been charged with crimes in DeKalb County, according to court records. They were granted pretrial release on July 24, according to court records.

No pleas have been made in either‘s case, and the next hearing for both is currently scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 16, in front of Judge Joseph Pederson.