Devine Announces Indictments Against Three Cook County Employees and Five Others
State’s Attorney Richard A. Devine announced indictments today against three Cook County employees and five others for their involvement in a series of fraudulent schemes totaling more than $1.6 million.
Indicted were Charles Koen, managing director of the not-for-profit United Front, Inc. and pastor of Christian Hope Church, Alex Brooks, vice president of United Front, Ronnie Marshall and Joyce Norfleet, also United Front employees. Brooks and Marshall were also ministers at Christian Hope Church at 8849-59 S. Greenwood.
“This is particularly shocking because much of this money was intended to help impoverished individuals looking to better themselves,” Devine said. “As if that were not bad enough, three of the defendants were county employees in positions of trust and three others were trusted by their communities as ministers. That’s appalling.”
Also indicted were three Cook County employees of the President’s Office of Employment Training (POET)—Rudolph Sanchez, Roberto Rivera, and Ronald Harper. An eighth defendant, Dorothy Taylor, also worked for United Front.
Three governmental agencies were solicited to retain United Front to provide training to displaced workers or workers who were unable to pay for the training on their own. They were POET, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (MOWD), and the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC).
According to the indictments prepared by Assistant State’s Attorney’s Robert Podlasek and Dianne Ghaster, Koen, Norfleet and Marshall told these agencies that United Front had certified instructors who would provide carpentry training. In addition, they told the agency officials that United Front would supply all the necessary books, tools and safety equipment. Once trained, these students were to get union cards and be placed in paid union jobs to serve their apprenticeships.
In fact, United Front was largely a non-operational enterprise. Two separate South Side school sites were empty shells with little or no teaching or training taking place. Some students managed to get union cards through their own efforts, but United Front never fulfilled its promise to place students in union jobs during their apprenticeships.
United Front was certified as an approved vendor by a POET official only after being pressured by POET officials Rivera, Sanchez and Harper, according to the charges. Sanchez was the executive director of POET; Rivera was the POET deputy director of operations; and Harper was the POET Chicago Heights regional manager.
Subsequent to this coerced certification, MOWD and HACC relied on POET’s certification in their decision to use United Front as a vendor, according to the charges. Between January 2003 and February 2004, POET paid United Front more than $96,000 in checks for students supposedly trained by United.
Between May 2003 and August 2004, MOWD paid United Front $243,300 for training. All of the checks were deposited into a United Front loan account with an attached line of credit at International Bank of Chicago to pay down the principal.
Between December 2002 and August 2004, HACC paid United $64,000 in checks for training, but little or no training took place.
In a series of indictments returned last year and unsealed today, the defendants face multiple felony charges.
Charged with organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise was Koen, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Koen, Norfleet and United Front Inc. were also charged with a continuing financial crimes enterprise, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to15 years in prison; a
Class 2 theft, punishable by up to 7 years in prison; misappropriation of financial institution property, also a Class 2 felony, and Money Laundering, a Class 3 punishable by up to 5 years in prison. If convicted on all charges, Norfleet faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Sanchez, Rivera and Harper were charged with official misconduct and intimidation, class 3 felonies; unlawful restraint, a class 4 felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison, and a class 2 theft. They face a minimum of three years in prison of convicted of all charges.
Marshall and Taylor, who was also employed by United Front, were charged with a continuing financial crimes enterprise, class 1 felony, a Class 2 theft, misappropriation of financial institution property, and money laundering. If convicted on all charges, they face a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Harper is also charged in a separate indictment with official misconduct, a class 3 theft, misappropriation of financial institution property, bribery, a class 2 felony, intimidation, a class 3 felony, and forgery, a class 3 felony. In the outlined in this indictment, Harper allegedly signed off on vouchers to Bestway Trucking for training students who never attended training. He allegedly extorted money from Bestway’s owner, telling him this is “how business is done in the county.” He faces a minimum of three years in prison if convicted of all charges.
In another indictment, Koen, Norfleet, Marshall, United Front Inc., and United Front Training School are charged with organizer of continuing financial crimes enterprise, continuing financial crimes enterprise, misappropriation of financial institution property and a class 1 theft.
In another indictment last year, Koen is charged with a class 1 theft, theft from a church, a class X, and financial exploitation of an elderly person, a class 1 felony.
In the final indictment returned earlier this month, Koen, Brooks, and United Front, Inc., were charged with misappropriation of financial institution property, loan fraud, a class 1 felony,
conspiracy to commit a financial crime, a class 1 felony, continuing financial crimes enterprise, a class 1 theft, and forgery. Koen was charged with organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise, a class X.
In this scheme, they allegedly used a forged deed to a Christian Hope Missionary Baptist Church ,7543-49 S. Aberdeen St. as collateral to borrow more than $1.6 million from International Bank of Chicago in 2003 and 2004.
United Front and United Front Training School are charged as corporate entities. But as virtually bankrupt organizations, no fines are likely.
Investigators Edward McCloskey, Jacquenette Sullivan and Mike Balcarcel were instrumental in the work that led to the indictments, Devine said. The County Inspector General’s office was also helpful in the early stages of this investigation.
Koen is 62 and lists his address as 211 E. 24th St., Cairo, Ill.
Brooks is 78 and lists his address as 1505 Commercial, Cairo.
Norfleet is 61 and lists her address as 5637 N. Artesian, Chicago.
Taylor is 49 and lists her address as 6652 N. Ashland, Chicago.
Rivera is 56 and lists his address as 1313 Wenonah, Berwyn.
Harper is 56 and lists his address as 17614 Balmoral, Hazel Crest.
Sanchez is 64 and lists his address as 5223 Fence Lake N.E. Drive, Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Marshall is 42 and lists his address as 5725 W. Birch, Milwaukee, Wis.
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