CHICAGO – A federal grand jury in the Windy City has nailed five individuals for reportedly bilking millions from small business loans and unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. George Kavroulakis, 33, Athanasios Intzes, 35, Adam Jaber, 34, Hassan Kurdi, 35, and Abbdallah Issa, 26, all Chicago-area residents, are accused of swindling millions through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA).
The indictment unsealed this week in the Northern District of Illinois charges Kavroulakis with nine counts of wire fraud; Intzes, Jaber, Kurdi, and Issa each face four to nine counts. Each count carries a potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors claim the defendants submitted multiple fraudulent applications on behalf of themselves and others, falsely inflating the number of employees, revenue, and payroll. The ring is also accused of causing $750,000 in fraudulent PUA benefits to be dispersed in Illinois and California by misrepresenting unemployment status.
American Lawyer George Kavroulakis, who led the gang, allegedly used much of the ill-gotten gains for personal indulgence, including several Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Rolex Submariner watch.
The charges were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI, Robert Collins of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General, and Megan Howell of the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges, with a status hearing set for Aug. 14, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins. The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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