Three men face stiff penalties for allegedly taking advantage of a pandemic relief program aimed at supporting struggling businesses.

EASTERN ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal grand jury indicted three Metro East men on 13 counts for their alleged roles in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Friday.

Dana C. Howard, 52, of O’Fallon, Richard Scott Myers, 63, of Edwardsville, and Glenn Sunnquist, 53, of Swansea, are accused of misusing more than $1.4 million in federal pandemic relief funds. . The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, as well as additional charges against Howard and Myers for bankruptcy fraud and false statements.

Howard and Myers, co-owners of East St.-based Zoie, LLC and Zade Trucking. Louis, allegedly secured a $1,426,500 PPP loan in April 2020 under false pretenses, claiming the funds would be used for payroll and operating expenses. Prosecutors say the money was used for personal use and for another business they operated, in violation of program guidelines.

Court documents show that both Howard and Myers filed for bankruptcy in late 2020, concealing $450,000 in available funds. In January 2021, they applied for a second PPP loan worth over $1.4 million, falsely stating that they were not involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Sunnquist, a business accountant, is accused of falsifying expense records and falsifying invoices in support of a loan forgiveness application that was ultimately denied by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in September 2022.

“This program constitutes an egregious misuse of pandemic relief funds,” said Christopher Johnson, FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge of relief, who noted that investigating pandemic relief fraud remains a priority. The investigation is being led by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Burke.