Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a suburban Chicago woman was ordered to pay more than $41,000 in restitution for theft of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Samantha Hower, 37 of Elmwood Park, Illinois was sentenced by Cook County Circuit Court Judge James Novy to pay full restitution after pleading guilty to a Class 2 felony theft by deception. Hower was also sentenced to two years of second chance probation. 

“It is unacceptable that anyone would take advantage of Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were intended for struggling business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Raoul said. “I will continue to hold individuals accountable if they exploit critical aid programs for their own financial benefit.”  

The case was referred to the Attorney General’s office by the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General and investigated by the Illinois State Police. 

Hower fraudulently applied for PPP loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration by falsely claiming that she owned a business that did not exist. According to Raoul’s office, Hower received $20,833 in April 2021 and $20,833 in May 2021 as the result of two fraudulent applications. 

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Haley Bookout for Raoul’s Public Integrity Bureau and Assistant Attorney General Kiran Gupta for Raoul’s Special Prosecutions Bureau.