ST. LOUIS – Two Veterans Affairs workers from the St. Louis area, one current and one former employee, are accused of illegally obtaining $80,000 in pandemic loans.
Kahroun Armstrong, 48, of Black Jack, Missouri, and Dortatius L. Hill, 41, of St. Louis, were both indicted on federal charges on Sept. 4, each with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement.
Armstong and Hill appeared in federal court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.
Hill’s indictment alleges that he applied for two Paycheck Protection Program loans in April 2021 for a company listed as “Dortatius Hill.” The PPP loans were supposed to be used to save jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigators say Hill received around $40,000 between both loans and also sought loan forgiveness.
Armstrong’s indictment accuses him of seeking PPP loans through two companies, Arm & Arm In Home Health Care Services and Arm & Arm Motors LLC, in March 2021.
Investigators say Armstrong also received around $40,000 between both loans and also sought loan forgiveness. He reportedly claimed that both loans would be used for payroll costs, rent, utilities and other expenses.
Armstrong is no longer employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
If convicted, both face up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines for each bank fraud charge and up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fines for each wire fraud charge and five years in prison and a $250,000 in fines for a making a false statement charge.
