Police ally of scandal-ridden Mayor Tiffany Henyard indicted on chapter fraud costs

A high police officer and ally of controversial Dolton, Illinois, Mayor Tiffany Henyard was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on chapter fraud costs.

Lewis A. Lacey, 61, the previous deputy chief of police of Dolton, Illinois, is accused of concealing property and earnings to keep away from paying collectors and settling a lawsuit, in accordance with the U.S. Attorney’s Office within the Northern District of Illinois. The nine-count indictment costs Lacey with chapter fraud, making false statements in a chapter case and perjury.

Lacey has been an outspoken supporter of the embattled Henyard, who has been dogged in scandal for months after being accused of misdeeds starting from weaponizing police raids to spending taxpayer cash on luxuries in Las Vegas.

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According to the indictment, Lacey filed a 2019 chapter petition shortly after a plaintiff moved to implement a settlement settlement, accusing Lacey of nonetheless owing $43,000 of the $55,000 settlement. He additionally filed a chapter petition in 2020.

He made a number of false and fraudulent representations in oral statements and paperwork submitted within the chapter instances, together with underreporting his month-to-month earnings and concealing financial institution accounts that he managed, the indictment states. Among different issues, Lacey falsely represented that he was separated from his partner and that she didn’t reside with him or contribute to his month-to-month earnings and mortgage.

The false representations allowed Lacey to fraudulently calculate his month-to-month earnings for functions of reimbursement of his collectors as considerably lower than it ought to have been if his partner’s contributions have been included, the indictment states. The indictment is a part of an ongoing federal investigation.

During the charged fraud scheme, Lacey served as a police officer with the Dolton Police Department. He was fired final week because the city’s deputy police chief to avoid wasting prices throughout a contentious village board assembly involving Henyard, Fox 32 Chicago studies. 

Lacey’s lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, advised the New York Post that the indictment is a part of a “bigger plan by the government to try to indict the mayor of Dolton.”

Pissetzky advised the outlet that his shopper was harmless of the costs and that the feds solely wished to make use of Lacey to assist construct up a felony case towards Henyard. Lacey faces as much as 45 years in jail if discovered responsible on all costs.

“They’re going after certain people in the village to see who’s gonna turn on the mayor,” Pissetzky mentioned.

Fox News Digital reached out to Henyard’s workplace however didn’t instantly obtain a response. 

Last week’s assembly featured a presentation by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot about her investigation into Dolton’s “dire” monetary scenario. The Village of Dolton employed Lightfoot as a “special investigator” to look into Henyard’s alleged misdeeds.  

Lightfoot said that in April 2022, Dolton’s normal fund stability was $5.61 million, however by May 2024, the stability had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.

Lightfoot additionally disclosed that Henyard used the village bank card to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair and different retailers. 

One jaw-dropping assertion revealed that the embattled mayor had dropped $33,000 on Jan. 5, 2023 on Amazon. 

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“These are somebody using the credit card and charging these amounts using your tax dollars,” Lightfoot advised residents.

Lightfoot mentioned that the preliminary investigation additionally revealed that two law enforcement officials had obtained additional time pay exceeding their annual salaries. 

One officer’s wage for fiscal yr 2024 was $87,295, but the officer obtained $114,800 in additional time pay. The second officer, with a wage of $73,515, obtained $102,077 in additional time pay for fiscal yr 2024.

The studies have been a stress level for town, which has a inhabitants of barely greater than 20,000, in accordance with a July 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The accusations of monetary misdeeds have prompted an ongoing FBI investigation.

Henyard, who sometimes speaks right into a golden microphone at conferences, has additionally come beneath hearth for an alleged sexual assault by certainly one of her allies throughout a Las Vegas journey, the place the alleged sufferer claims to have been fired after talking out. Henyard’s most cancers charity can be going through scrutiny.

Fox News Digital beforehand reported that Henyard has been dwelling like a royal with a mixed wage of practically $300,000 — greater than the state’s governor — regardless of the 23,000 residents of the Illinois city having a median earnings of $24,000.

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In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Henyard after six folks had reportedly spoken to the company about her alleged misconduct, together with “business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials.” 

In April, the FBI served two federal subpoenas as a part of an investigation. Henyard was not served.

The first one was for employment information, personnel recordsdata and disciplinary studies for 25 Dolton staff, together with three law enforcement officials and Keith Freeman, who’s the village administrator and Henyard’s high aide. Freeman was charged with chapter fraud.

The second subpoena was served particularly on Freeman, asking for information of all corporations related to him and doable ties to the village.

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.