A suburban Chicago restaurateur is facing fraud charges after she allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $175,000 in loans for her defunct business from a federal coronavirus (COVID-19) relief fund.
Melissa Turasky, 43, of Lake in the Hills, IL, was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. It is unclear if she has acquired the services of an attorney.
A group of retailers and manufacturers in Illinois filed a lawsuit this week against an emergency rule change to the state’s workers’ compensation laws.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission passed the emergency rule last week after it was requested by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The amendment requires the employers of first responders and other essential employees to pay workers’ compensation benefits to workers who test positive for COVID-19, assuming the worker contracted the virus on the job.
Police in Willmington, IL, are reportedly seeking to seize the vehicle of a 27-year-old man who was arrested in August for armed robbery.
According to documents filed by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, police are seeking to forfeit a 1997 GMC 2500 truck owned by Correy A. Ingram of Diamond.
Former Illinois police chief Michael Newsome, who has been charged with the theft of over $200,000 in civil asset forfeiture funds, has waived his right to jury trial. He was first arrested in 2012 and has been out on bond ever since.
The former Illinois police chief has been charged with seven felonies. The charges include the theft of over $100,000 in government property, official misconduct, and the misappropriation of funds. The thefts are alleged to have occurred between 2007 and 2012.
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In 2014, law enforcement seized Petra Henderson’s Harley-Davidson because her husband was driving it while intoxicated and with a suspended license. The woman has spent the last four years attempting to get her bike back. Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the original seizure of the bike.
On April 26, 2014, the woman and her husband, Mark, went on a bar crawl near their home in Robinson, Crawford County. The woman was the designated driver, and they took her Harley-Davidson trike. She had bought the trike in 2010 for $35,000 and was still paying it off in 2014.
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Criminal Defense and Civil Forfeiture Blog