Steger man charged with stealing $20,833 from Paycheck Protection Program

A Steger man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining a $20,833 Paycheck Protection Program loan, and stealing $7,470 in unemployment benefits that he was not entitled to receive.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Zachary Perry, 26, on charges of theft by deception, theft, loan fraud, wire fraud and states benefit fraud. The charges were the result of a Steger Police Department investigation. Steger is about 25 miles east of Joliet.

The warrant was signed on Sept. 7 by Judge Donald DeWilkins and carries a $200,000 bond. Perry has not been booked into the Will County jail yet as of Tuesday.

Perry was last jailed on Jan. 29, 2021.

A criminal complaint filed in Will County alleged Perry secured a PPP loan worth $20,833 by claiming his sole proprietor business had gross revenues of $104,000 in 2019, when he knew that was false.

Perry was charged with fraudulently obtaining the money on or about June 2, 2021.

Perry was also accused in the complaint of lying on his loan application by claiming he was not the subject of criminal proceedings.

Perry allegedly applied for a PPP loan on May 21, 2021, while he was still charged in Will County with felony unlawful advertisement of a substance that looks like an illegal drug.

Perry pleaded guilty to the offense and was sentenced to a year of conditional discharge on June 11, 2021.

The criminal complaint further accused Perry of obtaining $7,470 in unemployment benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security even though he had received the $20,833 PPP loan for his business, thus making him ineligible for those benefits.