Story by Ethan
On March 16th, 2026, the arrest of Jermaine Hydol, age 43, was announced by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Jermaine Hydol was charged with first-degree Scheme to Defraud and three counts of second-degree Grand Larceny. The arrest and charges against Jermaine Hydol were a result of an investigation handled by the New York State Inspector General’s Office, Investigative Counsel Ray Gdula, Senior Investigator Ilene Gates, Senior Investigative Auditor Angelus Okeke, Downstate Chief of Investigations Ben Defibaugh, Downstate Chief of Audit Alla Korsunskiy, and New York City Deputy Inspector General Ken Michaels.
According to theBrooklyn District Attorney’s Office, between the dates of April 1st, 2020, and March 30th, 2022, Jermaine Hydol is alleged to have used various state and federal programs to obtain pandemic relief funds on the behalf of three separate companies. The aforementioned companies used by the defendant included Empire State Development, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, and Paycheck Protection Program, for an alleged total of $386,187. Loans given out by these companies were intended for helping businesses with expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, however Jermaine Hydol allegedly used the funds he gained for personal expenses and gambling at casinos including Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut and Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York.
TheBrooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Jermaine Hydol are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
