Former Illini football player due in federal court next week

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (WAND) — A former University of Illinois football player will be appearing in federal court next week.

Dana C. Howard, 52, was indicted last month on charges of fraud related to Paycheck Protection Program loans. A grand jury indictment charged Howard with one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one charge of making a false statement, two counts of bankruptcy fraud and three counts of willful failure to pay taxes.

PPP Loans were distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer relief and forgiveable loans to struggling businesses.

Howard, who was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, played for Illinois from 1991-1994.

“In one of the most prevalent and widespread fraud crimes in American history, any greedy individuals who sought to steal from the federal government under false pretenses and enrich themselves with PPP funds will be held accountable under the law,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.

Two other men were indicted alongside Howard, Richard Scott Myers, 63, of Edwardsville, and Glenn Sunnquist, 53, of Swansea. Howard and Myers were listed as co-owners of construction company Zoie, LLC, and freight company Zade Trucking, both in East St. Louis. Sunnquist was employed as a bookkeeper for both businesses.

According to the Southern District of Illinois, in April 2020 Howard and Myers applied for and received a PPP loan for $1,426,500. The two are accused of using the loan for their personal use and to the benefit of another business they owned. Sunnquist is accused of falsifying Zoie’s expense records and manipulating old invoices to support the loan’s forgiveness application.

Howard has been summoned to appear in federal court Dec. 11.