Two Men Accused Of Stealing $20K From Ford Heights Church
(CBS) -- Two men are accused of stealing government loan money intended for a south suburban Ford Heights church and allegedly spending it on themselves.
One of the men, 66-year-old Allis Franklin, helped the True Light Missionary Baptist Church apply in August for the $20,300 Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, intended for church repairs.
In a statement, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says Franklin and 63-year-old Horace Brownfield instead misrepresented themselves as church officers in November to personnel at a Chicago Heights bank and set up an account where the SBA deposited the loan.
By the time the pastor checked in December with the SBA on the status of the loan application, he found the money had been deposited and spent. He then went to police.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Franklin Tuesday and Brownfield Wednesday. Bond is set at $200,000.