DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that a former Glendale Heights attorney has been sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for using his girlfriend’s personal identifying information to defraud banks out of more than $82,000 over an approximately eighteen-month period. 71-year old Leonard DeFranco of the 2000 block of Cypress Court, appeared at his sentencing hearing this afternoon in front of Judge Mia McPherson, who handed down the sentence. DeFranco appeared in Bond Court on December 15, 2018, where bond was set at $10,000 with 10% to apply, in accordance with a previously issued arrest warrant. He posted the necessary 10%, or $1,000, the same day and was released pending trial. On May 31, 2024, DeFranco entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of Identity Theft – More Than $10,000 but Less Than $100,000, a Class 1 Felony. DeFranco was charged with thirteen counts of Identity Theft, twenty-six counts of Forgery, four counts of Financial Institution Fraud, one count of Continuing a Financial Crimes Enterprise and two counts of Obstruction of Justice, all felonies ranging from Class 1 to Class 4.
Today’s sentence stems from allegations that between December 2, 2015, and June 8, 2017, DeFranco, without authorization, used the personal identifying information of his then-girlfriend to obtain four loans totaling $82,700. DeFranco’s scheme was uncovered when the victim ran her credit report and discovered the loans. Once she uncovered the fraudulent loans, she contacted law enforcement and the financial institutions that provided the loans. Following an investigation into the thefts, authorities learned that in one instance, DeFranco used his victim’s personal identifying information to secure a loan in her name for the purchase of a $43,500 Audi A8. At the sentencing hearing, the State proved in aggravation that DeFranco, through various schemes, had stolen a total of $845,831.58 from a dozen victims including his former girlfriend, five individuals and six financial institutions.
“White collar financial crimes always leave a paper trail,” Berlin said. “This afternoon, Mr. DeFranco learned that the paper trail in this case is leading him to a six-year sentence in the penitentiary. 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. I thank the Elmhurst Police Department, particularly Detective Jeff Kucera, for their outstanding work on this complicated case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Ken Tatarelis and Diane Michalak for their efforts in unraveling Mr. DeFranco’s criminal behavior.”…