PARK FOREST, Ill. — An Illinois watchdog implicated several more state workers in an investigation into pandemic-era fraud.

According to a report, 37 employees at the Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest have resigned, been fired, or face discipline for defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The employees-involved are being accused of receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans of at least $20,000 each for businesses that reportedly did not exist or did not earn the income claimed in the paperwork.

Dozens of workers across the state, along with the Ludeman Developmental Center employees, will lose their jobs due to pandemic fraud.