Chicago police sergeant charged with stealing $41K from federal PPP program

A sergeant has become the third officer from the Chicago Police Department to be charged with defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program that was designed to help ailing businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sgt. Brandi Wright, 44, is accused of stealing more than $41,000 from the program. Federal prosecutors said she submitted two applications for PPP loans in 2021 for a bakery that didn’t exist. Wright also submitted phony tax documents to support her application, prosecutors said.

She was charged Monday in a court document called an information, which often signals the defendant is considering a guilty plea. Her attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.

In a separate federal case, former Chicago police officers Torrey Price and Aaron Price are charged with stealing more than $2 million through about 100 phony loan applications connected to PPP and another federal aid program. Their trial is scheduled for September.