Illinois
Disbarred Illinois attorney used stolen information for loans, luxury car: prosecutors
DUPAGE COUNTY – A former Glendale Heights attorney is headed to prison after prosecutors said he used his girlfriend’s identity to take out fraudulent loans, including one for a luxury car.
What we know:
Leonard DeFranco, 71, was sentenced Friday to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for identity theft.
Prosecutors said he used his then-girlfriend’s personal information without her knowledge to secure four loans totaling $82,700 between 2015 and 2017. The fraud was uncovered when she checked her credit report and found accounts she hadn’t opened.
Investigators determined that one of the fraudulent loans was used to purchase a $43,500 Audi A8.
“White collar financial crimes always leave a paper trail,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “His scheming and deception brought dishonor to the legal profession and a slap in the face to his former girlfriend, to whom he undoubtedly caused a financial hardship.”
Dig deeper:
DeFranco was initially charged with multiple felonies, including identity theft, forgery, and financial institution fraud. However, he pleaded guilty in May 2024 to one count of identity theft for an amount exceeding $10,000 but less than $100,000.
At his sentencing, prosecutors said DeFranco had stolen a total of $845,831 from a dozen victims, including his ex-girlfriend, five other people, and six financial institutions.
DeFranco, who posted bond in 2018 after his arrest, will now serve his six-year sentence in state prison.
Furthermore, the Illinois Registration and Disciplinary Commission disbarred him in March 2024.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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