Monee Village Clerk Doneshia Codjoe’s campaign for mayor took another hit last week when she and her husband, Ebenezer, were arrested in front of their 26221 S. Apple Blossom Lane home.
The couple, both 41, were taken into custody by Illinois State Police special agents and charged with loan fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, and theft from a church or school.
Illinois State Police said the arrests followed a 2024 investigation requested after the Monee Police Department received information about alleged fraud related to federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. The Police Department is mandated by state, federal statute, and policy to report any criminal complaints to the appropriate law enforcement and prosecuting agency.
Doneshia Codjoe, now finishing her second four-year term as village clerk, received $8,814 for a PPP loan on May 20, 2021.
Her husband applied for and was granted a separate PPP loan for $20,833, also on May 20, 2021.
Both loans were forgiven as of September 9, 2021.
The loan applications allegedly falsified the businesses’ finances. ISP and the Will County State’s Attorney’s office did not provide additional details.
The PPP program was implemented in April 2020 to help small businesses survive shut-downs during the Coronavirus pandemic.
More than four dozen Monee PPP loans were approved, including three churches, a former elected official, a trucking company, and an excavating contractor whose loan totalled a whopping $650,957.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) can audit PPP loans of any size, including those under $150,000. The SBA can audit loans at any time and at its discretion.
By comparison, the Codjoes’ loans were small, but word of the couple’s arrests was yet another blow to Doneshia Codjoe’s hopes for a win in the April 1 election, where she faces popular incumbent Mayor Therese Bogs.
Earlier this month, Codjoe came under fire for the alleged loss of local early voting locations two years ago.
According to the Will County Clerk’s office, Monee forfeited its local early voting sites because of missteps Codjoe might have made in the verification of the Early Voting Registration Application Box for the 2023 election.
To clarify, the most recent voter registration application is included in the Early Voting Registration Application Box. The box also includes any “spoiled” ballots. On the last day of early voting when the operation is shutting down, the In-Person Early Voting Ballot Applications go into a box, which is immediately sealed with two stickers signed and dated by the two judges, confirming both were present and witnessed the applications going into the box.
Documents obtained by The Vedette via the Freedom of Information Act confirm Codjoe was in Tennessee as early voting was taking place in Monee. She reportedly verified the box before early voting ended and left for vacation.
Moreover, the FOIA documents note the box was not secured during her absence but instead was left in an accessible area at the village hall.
In a lengthy statement at that time, she defended her handling of the early voting procedure.
“None who have given a statement (related to this issue) know the truth, and this is it,” she said then.
“The entire early voting process this go-round was a complete political ploy.
“I never received anything stating there was a reason why early voting was removed, and (the Will County Clerk) validating that no laws, ordinances, or State Statutes were broken/violated, made this more ‘political’ and made it more harder for seniors and our residents to cast their voice by vote.
“That was the end of it all. “Now that there is an election with me running against Dr. Bogs, suddenly, throwing everything my way including false information and things that have nothing to do with me are being used as a lifeline.
“Makes one wonder what really is happening on the inside.”
Codjoe did not respond to an email request for comment about the PPP loans and arrests.