A Mokena couple accused of using $653,500 in a $1.1 million Paycheck Protection Program loan to buy a home faces new charges of stealing from the Illinois Department of Revenue by failing to pay taxes applicable to the money accused of being misused.
On Thursday, a grand jury returned an indictment against Jennifer and Joseph Wirtz that included nine counts related to the PPP loan fraud case. The Wirtz couple were originally charged with eight counts.
Among the nine charges is the new theft in which the couple was accused of stealing the IDR currency.
Jennifer and Joseph Wirtz were originally arrested by the Lockport Police Department on Nov. 22 on charges of obtaining a $1.1 million PPP loan and using $653,500 of that money to purchase a home in Mokena.
The Will County prosecutor said the couple represented that the PPP loan was used only for business-related purposes for their Joliet company, Josco Construction Services.
The new indictment alleges that Jennifer and Joseph Wirtz received $653,500 in income from the PPP loan and failed to report that amount to IDR on their 2021 tax return.
The indictment states that the couple did not pay the applicable tax, which is more than $10,000 instead of $100,000, in IDR.
After their arrests, the Wirtz’s attorney, Chuck Bretz, requested the return of bank accounts, cell phones, computers, credit cards and employee documents seized in the investigation. and Neil Patel.
The lawyer asked for the items to be returned, failing which it would cause “irreparable harm for which there is no remedy under the law.”
The lawyers said prosecutors should not be “allowed to destroy” Josco Construction Services, which 50 people rely on for their jobs, while investigating and prosecuting the charges.
Judge Dave Carlson granted the portion of the motion.
Prosecutors filed a complaint seeking the eviction of the Mokena home that the Wirtz couple said was purchased with part of the PPP loan. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial on December 28.
