PHOENIX — A former Phoenix Police Department officer was arrested after allegedly fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan money.
According to court paperwork first uncovered by ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing, Toni Richardson and Willie Mitchell submitted a false PPP loan application to obtain money for their business, named "The Lotto Club."
In total, Richardson and Mitchell obtained $1,276,500 in PPP money for their business, but allegedly used the money for personal expenses and transferred the money to personal banking accounts, court documents stated.
Court paperwork states that Richardson was 100% owner of the business and didn’t have any payroll or employees.
Richardson, who worked as an officer for the Phoenix Police Department, is no longer on the force.
Upon notification of the charges, officials with Phoenix police say they "immediately began the process to terminate employment," but Richardson submitted a letter of resignation before the firing occurred.
It is unclear when Richardson submitted her resignation to the department.
Richardson is facing multiple federal charges, ranging from conspiracy, bank fraud, transactional money laundering, to forfeiture allegation.
Read the statement, in part, from the Phoenix Police Department below:
"Former Phoenix Police officer, Toni Richardson, faces federal fraud charges after being arrested by FBI.
The department was notified of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and immediately began the process to terminate employment. The employee submitted a letter of resignation prior to formal termination.
The city of Phoenix takes allegations of criminal conduct by our employees very seriously. The alleged actions of this employee go against the core values of the city and everything we stand for as public servants."
ABC15 has reached out to Richardson's attorney for a comment and will update if one is received.
