States Attorney.

Government Official Faces Felony Charges for a Million-Dollar Theft

Press Release - Former Township Official Charged With Million Dollar Theft

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced the charges made against a government official of a suburban township school district, following investigations involving the theft of more than one million dollars by a treasurer who handled the finances for the western suburb school districts and agencies for over a 20-year term.

Robert Healy, 54, is a resident of LaGrange Highlands who was previously the Treasurer of the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools, wherein he served for about 24 years from 1998 through 2012. The defendant has been charged with Theft of Governmental Property (Class X Felony), and Official Misconduct (Class 3 Felony) for his alleged involvement in the embezzlement of more than $1.5 million from the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools.

Located in the Lagrange Park, the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools manages a total of 13 agencies and school districts, which serves over 21,000 school children. In this capacity, the organization is responsible for handling the finances of more than $280 million in public funds of school districts and agencies in the western suburbs of the Cook County, including Burr Ridge, Justice, LaGrange, LaGrange Highlands, LaGrange Park, Lyons, Summit/Argo, Western Springs, and Willow Springs.

As the Treasurer of the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools, the defendant was assigned to manage and maintain all the funds, books, and papers in the ownership of all the 13 school districts and agencies under the jurisdiction of the organization. As such, the defendant had the power to invest school funds and manage the payrolls for the respective school districts and agencies. Furthermore, the defendant was also authorized to sign checks and process withdrawals on behalf of the 13 school districts and agencies for warranted business proceedings.

The charges filed against the defendant alleges that beginning in late 1989 through April of 2012, the defendant had engaged in 105 unauthorized wire transfers from the bank account of the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools to his own, personal bank account, which amounted to a total of $900,853.32 unauthorized bank transfers. Additionally, investigations revealed that the defendant had added unauthorized compensation to his bi-monthly paychecks in order to inflate his salary and benefits, which resulted to an increase in his paycheck to a total of $630,346.78 additional income. In this capacity, the defendant was also able to afford himself a luxury automobile, which he purchased in July of 2011, and wherein he made an unauthorized wire transfer amounting to $7,547.51 for the vehicle’s down-payment on the lease. Prosecutors declared that court documents showed a total of $1,538,747.61 embezzled monies from the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools, made by the defendant through unauthorized payments by both check or wire transfer.

Robert Healy resigned from his position in September of 2012 and was arrested on August 14, 2013. Subsequently, the defendant appeared in court for a bond hearing at the George Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago on August 15, 2013. Cook County Judge James Brown had set the defendant’s bail at $100,000 and had set to continue the case on September 4, 2013. If proven guilty, the defendant faces up to 30-year imprisonment.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez thanked the Lyons Township officials for their collaborative work on the investigation of the case.

With the provided criminal documents containing allegations that are not evidence of guilt, the public is reminded that the defendant shall be presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated: September 8, 2020

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