Hadi Isbaih, Wire Fraud, Illinois 2020

CHICAGO – Hadi Isbaih, 42, of Palos Heights, Illinois, isn’t preparing taxes anymore. He’s facing a potential 20-year stretch in federal prison after a jury found him guilty on all four counts of wire fraud Monday. The conviction stems from a scheme to bilk the federal government out of Covid-relief funds by falsifying loan applications for his clients.

Isbaih, who owned and operated Flash Tax Service Inc. in Bridgeview, Illinois, allegedly wasn’t just offering tax prep services. From May to August 2020, the feds say he was actively creating fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs – both established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These programs were designed to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic, but Isbaih saw them as an opportunity to line his own pockets.

The evidence presented at trial showed Isbaih submitted applications riddled with lies. He allegedly inflated clients’ gross revenues, employee numbers, and payroll figures to qualify them for larger loans. He even backed up these false claims with doctored tax returns, all for a fee. Customers weren’t getting a free service; Isbaih demanded several hundred dollars before submitting the applications, and then hit them up for more cash if the loans actually came through. It was a double-dip scam, plain and simple.

Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Morris Pasqual, and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., announced the conviction. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kartik K. Raman and Rick D. Young prosecuted the case, building a case based on falsified documents and financial records. The government proved Isbaih wasn’t just assisting clients, he was actively participating in the fraud, knowingly submitting false information to the federal government.

Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman will determine the sentencing date at a later time. This conviction sends a clear message: preying on pandemic relief programs won’t be tolerated. The Department of Justice is actively pursuing those who exploited the CARES Act for personal gain.

If you’ve got information on attempted Covid-relief fraud, don’t stay silent. You can report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or by filing an online complaint at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. The feds are still looking for more victims and co-conspirators in these schemes.

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