Former Budlong Chicken Owner Sentenced to Prison for Misusing COVID Relief Funds
Jared Leonard, the former owner of Budlong Hot Chicken and other restaurants in Chicago and Denver, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang in Chicago also ordered Leonard to pay approximately $2.8 million in restitution to the IRS and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Leonard, 45, of Littleton, Colorado, admitted to fraudulently obtaining over $2.3 million in COVID relief funds and failing to remit more than $430,000 in employee taxes. Between April 2020 and March 2021, Leonard submitted at least 10 fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. These applications contained false information regarding his businesses' employee counts, payroll expenses, gross revenue, and operational status. Instead of using the funds to support his businesses and employees during the pandemic, Leonard diverted most of the money for personal use, including purchasing a sprawling home in Evergreen, Colorado, ve... 
