Glendale Heights attorney sentenced to 6 years for defrauding banks out of $82,000

A Glendale Heights attorney has been sentenced to six years in prison for using his girlfriend’s personal identifying information to defraud banks out of more than $82,000 over an approximately 18-month period, prosecutors said.

Leonard DeFranco, 71, of the 2000 block of Cypress Court, appeared at his sentencing hearing Friday in front of Judge Mia McPherson, who handed down the sentence.

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, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

DeFranco was charged with 13 counts of identity theft, 26 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, according to the release.

Today’s sentence stems from allegations that between Dec. 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 from a dozen victims including his former girlfriend, five individuals and six financial institutions, according to the release.

“White collar financial crimes always leave a paper trail,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “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.”

The Illinois Registration and Disciplinary Commission disbarred DeFranco effective March 19, 2024.