Illinois Businessman Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for $14 Million Covid-Relief Fraud

CHICAGO - An Illinois businessman has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $14 million across 1,500 fraudulent small business loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The scheme netted SHARHABEEL SHREITEH at least $741,000 in kickback payments. In turn, Shreiteh then funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan proceeds fraudulently obtained from the United States government to financial institutions in the Palestinian Territories, much of which was used to build a second home there. He also used some of the fraud proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle in the United States, including renovations to his residence in Crete, Ill., and vacations to South Carolina and Florida. Under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros and consistent with the Administration's priorities to identify, investigate, and prosecute criminal fraud in the federal government entitlement and benefit programs, the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois is taking a fresh look at Covid-19 fraud.

Shreiteh engaged in fraud in 2020 and 2021 related to the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created by the CARES Act to cover lost revenue due to economic disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic. Shreiteh, who worked as a tax preparer in Palos Hills, Ill., recruited purported sole proprietors, self-employed individuals, and businesses to provide their personal identifying information and other documents, and then submitted more than 1,500 fraudulent PPP loan applications on their behalf, causing the government to disburse at least $14 million in fraudulent PPP loans. As part of the scheme, the applications contained numerous misrepresentations that inflated the applicants' operations, payroll, income, and other expenses. For each successful fraudulent loan, Shreiteh received at least $1,000 to $4,000 in kickback payments from the loan applicants.

Shreiteh, 46, pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge. On March 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold sentenced Shreiteh to ten years in federal prison and ordered him to forfeit $741,000 to the United States government. Judge Pacold also ordered Shreiteh to pay $14 million in restitution to the United States government. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Pacold remarked, "Any fraud against any government program, but in particular a program that was an emergency relief program, to take advantage of those emergency funds and ultimately to steal from taxpayers is a terrible thing, and it's a very serious offense." Judge Pacold continued, "This was emergency money, it was supposed to help people who were suffering. It was supposed to help people who were suffering the effects of the Covid pandemic. It was funded by the government, therefore, by the American taxpayers, and [the fact] it was then sent overseas is very aggravating. And it's true, as the government pointed out, the next time there's a crisis . . . people will point to this sort of fraud as a reason why there might be a problem with putting this sort of program out there, and that just hurts ultimately the people who really needed the funds."

Judge Pacold also cited evidence that Shreiteh collected unemployment benefits from the states of Illinois and Ohio in 2020 and 2021 while simultaneously receiving the PPP fraud proceeds and working as a tax preparer. "That just shows a general disregard for the law, and . . . [a] willingness to lie to get money from government programs," Judge Pacold said.

U.S. Attorney Boutros announced the sentence along with Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office.

"In America's time of need, the defendant saw a chance to upgrade his lifestyle," Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner argued in the government's sentencing memorandum. "His fraudulent scheme resulted in a massive loss to the federal government at a time when Americans were struggling in the pandemic and legitimate businesses needed money to pay their employees. This was a massive, callous fraud motivated purely by greed."

Anyone with information about suspected Covid-19 fraud can report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud at (866) 720-5721, or by submitting an online complaint here.