Articles Posted in Criminal defense

by

The Justice Department announced charges against 21 individuals involved in an organized theft of catalytic converters. From 2018 to 2020, catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed by nearly 700%. Catalytic converters are now big money due in large part to the precious metals used in the manufacture of devices. They are designed to convert harmful gas emissions created by your vehicle into non-harmful gas emissions that reduce smog and protect the environment. Without a catalytic converter, your car will not run properly, either. As the value of these precious metals has increased over the past few years (think inflation), catalytic converters are becoming a prime target for thieves. 

As of right now, some states have moved to place catalytic converters on a list of restricted items that require ownership documentation and provenance to exchange. Others have yet to pass legislation addressing the thefts of catalytic converters, but as the situation worsens, chances are likely that more states will join in to include catalytic converters on lists of restricted items. 

The 21 individuals charged in the ring lived in nine separate states. 32 search warrants were executed, and millions in assets were seized as a part of the investigation. 

Continue reading

by

A Chicago man was arrested after the attempted rape of a female postal worker in Little Village over the weekend. According to the police report, the postal worker found the man waiting for her in her truck. An altercation ensued, and the postal worker was able to escape. However, the man then stole the mail truck. He has since been charged with attempted criminal sexual assault and vehicular hijacking. The postal worker was taken to a hospital and released.

The Post Office offered a $50,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the man’s arrest. The surveillance video image shows a clear shot of the defendant’s face. 

The defendant faces a litany of charges, any one of which could put him behind bars for decades or more. With the volume of major felonies he is facing, the defendant is unlikely to see the outside of a prison cell again. They have him at least on grand theft of government property and battery on a government employee. The victim will provide testimony as to the rest of the elements of the prosecution’s case involving attempted sexual assault. 

Continue reading

by

Police have elected not to press charges against a 17-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed an 8-year-old boy while handling a gun. In cases like these, it is often the gun owner who faces charges for failing to properly secure the gun in a locked safe unloaded as the law requires. However, no one will face charges related to this incident. In some cases, the outcome of an event is tragic enough that the law does not see fit to punish those responsible further. In this case, the gun should not have been accessible to the 17-year-old, and it should not have been loaded. 

Is it Illegal to Improperly Store a Gun?

Yes, but the penalties for this crime are closer to a traffic violation than an actual crime. You can face a $10,000 penalty if a minor gains access to your gun and harms themselves or someone else. Generally speaking, you can also face civil penalties related to injuries suffered by a victim of an accidental gunshot wound.

Continue reading

by

Chicago politicians facing corruption charges are about the most Chicago thing you can think of. However, what goes into these corruption charges? Do all politicians bend and break the law like this? Are criminal charges related to corruption simply an indication that a specific politician has fallen out of favor with the local elites? These are all valid questions that you can ask, and unfortunately, we do not really have the answers to them. It may not necessarily even be clear to laypeople what is and is not illegal. In most of these criminal prosecutions, it isn’t necessarily clear to the defendants either, who almost always argue that their conduct was legal and did not constitute a crime. 

What Happened Here?

Michael Madigan arranged for a political ally to receive a $22,000 payment from AT&T’s lobbying firm in exchange for a favorable vote on legislation that would have benefited AT&T. Is that legal? It depends on how it’s done. In this case, the individual who received the payment provided no work for AT&T. He simply received money as a chit for Madigan and his political allies to consolidate power. Now, it may not be apparent why this is valuable, but individuals like Madigan control people and their livelihoods and create networks of allies that consolidate power. If you think of it like a market, it becomes easier to understand. Madigan and his political allies sought to control the Illinois power market by consolidating power around themselves and their allies. Is that necessarily illegal? No. But brokering power in this way extorts money from businesses, reduces the competitive vigor of the market, and the general belief is that it makes things worse for everyone.

Continue reading

by

Two Chicago police officers have been charged after an on-duty shooting of an unarmed man, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Charges were filed after video surveillance contradicted statements made by the police officers concerning the incident. The two officers now face charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and official misconduct. Each of these is a felony with a potential sentence of up to 30 years. The two have been relieved of duty.

The victim did not have a weapon, nor did he fire a weapon when police officers shot at him. He has since filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police. The man was shot twice in the back and once in the leg. His attorney says that he was not a threat to police officers when he was shot. 

The situation was made worse after the victim was brought to the hospital for treatment. At the hospital, the victim was pulled away to answer questions. He was later released without charges and sent back to the hospital. He was still in pain and bleeding when he was he was being questioned. 

Continue reading

by

Four people, including three teens, have been charged in a carjacking spree that ended with the death of a 55-year-old woman. Police say the perpetrators carjacked two women, set a pickup truck on fire, and then caused a deadly crash after a police chase. The 17-year-old driver has been charged with murder and three counts of aggravated fleeing. Another 17-year-old has been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon. Others are facing charges of trespass to a vehicle and weapons violations. 

The teens carjacked two vehicles in a short time before setting fire to a pickup truck they had stolen earlier. At that point, police became aware of the teens, and a chase ensued. The chase reached speeds of 60 mph and only stopped when the stolen vehicle crashed into a Toyota driven by the 55-year-old victim. 

Understanding the Murder Charge

Continue reading

by

Police have confirmed the arrest of an 18-year-old after a vicious carjacking against a 61-year-old man in Chinatown. The man was also of Asian descent. It is unclear if the man was targeted because of his ethnicity, but crimes against the Asian population have skyrocketed since COVID-19. Asian business owners are now being targeted for hate crimes and burglaries. Many believe that Asians avoid using banks, making their homes prime targets to rob. In this case, the perpetrators may have targeted the area hoping to find an Asian with a wad of cash on them. Nonetheless, the beating itself was vicious, and the 61-year-old man was found unconscious in the street.

Police believe that there are four suspects involved in the carjacking, but thus far, only one of them has been apprehended. The suspect is currently being charged with attempted murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking. Another juvenile has been arrested in connection with possessing the victim’s stolen vehicle, but it is not believed that he was involved in the carjacking attempt. It is unclear if he will be charged with a crime.

The carjacking

Continue reading

by

A federal grand jury has indicted a Chicago police officer on charges of illegally detaining a trans woman and forcing her to perform sexual services against the threat of going to jail. The officer was a 29-year veteran with the force when he resigned in 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He also faced a civil complaint filed by the victim. The complaint was settled in 2020, but little is known about the details of the settlement. 

The same officer was accused in another complaint of sexual misconduct after demanding that a woman he had just pulled over follow him to an alley, where he proceeded to masturbate. That lawsuit was settled in 2019. Now, the officer is facing criminal charges related to sexual misconduct under the color of law. As of 2019, the officer had faced 44 complaints. The officer has been charged with deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal crime that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Since the allegations include sexual abuse, kidnapping, wrongful imprisonment, extortion, and whatever else, prosecutors will be looking to place the officer behind bars for as long as they possibly can. 

Analyzing the charges

Continue reading

by

A Chinese foreign exchange student and his handler were accused by the U.S. government of attempting to steal trade secrets from American companies. While most companies sell stuff on the internet, some companies actually produce innovative technologies that are protected by patents. If there is one thing communists do not care about, it’s patents or intellectual property. The student was accused of collecting the names of major scientists and engineers to target for theft of trade secrets. His handler was also convicted at trial in the first criminal case against a Chinese spy in the history of the U.S.

The student was caught after attempting to recruit a contact stateside. He texted a picture of his contract with the Chinese intelligence agency MSS. Prosecutors used this image to convict the student. However, they had to explain to the jury why a Chinese spy would use his cell phone to text spy contracts. They managed to convince the jury that while spies tend to have a very select skill set, not all of them are of James Bond quality. In fact, the Chinese government likely recruited the student because he was an electrical engineering major and not because he was a smooth sociopath acting at the behest of his national interests. The student seemed particularly interested in scientists from China and Taiwan working in the aerospace field. Seven of the scientists worked for U.S. defense contractors. 

The student graduated from college in 2015 and then enlisted in the army reserves through a program that attracts foreign nationals with specialized skills considered vital to U.S. military defense. 

Continue reading

by

There are 47 defendants in a federal lawsuit filed against the perpetrators of a $250 million scheme to defraud a pandemic-related relief program that earmarked funds for starving children. The Department of Justice announced that it was the largest pandemic relief fraud to date. The defendants have been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery. Federal prosecutors will push hard for maximum sentences as the federal government tends to take it personally when you deprive needy children of necessary food. 

The fraud targeted the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The program sends federal funds to state governments to ensure that children in need are provided with daily meals. Each state has its own agency that oversees these federal funds. Reimbursements are conducted on a per-meal basis, and providers are allowed to keep 15% of the disbursed funds for administrative costs. Individual sponsors apply for applications through their state government and then coordinate meal plans with children in need. During the COVID pandemic, the federal government waived some of the requirements allowing for-profit businesses to partake in the program. It also allowed off-site food distribution for children. 

The scheme called for the opening of fake food distribution sites to secure federal money from state governments. The fraudsters are accused of opening fake food distribution sites and then lying about how many meals they serve. The defendants created shell companies to take the funds, and then more shell companies to launder the proceeds. They submitted falsified reports to the federal government and fake attendance rosters of children who were served meals. They then used the proceeds to buy luxury items. The defendants used a website that randomly generates fake names and an Excel formula to randomly generate ages between 7 and 17. 

Continue reading
Contact Information
Chicago Office
70 W Madison St
#1450
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 560-7100
DuPage Office
140 Butterfield Rd
#1500
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Skokie Office
5250 Old Orchard Rd
#300
Skokie, IL 60077

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design