Plainfield Township supervisor charged with fraud

The Plainfield Township supervisor is facing federal charges for allegedly stealing from his former employer.

Anthony Fremarek was charged with wire fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with alleged embezzlement from the company, said Joseph Fitzpatrick, the assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.

Fremarek allegedly stole more than $1.3 million from the company to pay for his personal expenses, according to the federal indictment, directing company funds to make payments on his personal credit card accounts without knowledge or authorization from his employer.

He also allegedly made “false and fraudulent” entries in his employer’s accounting system to disguise the payments.

His employer, identified as “Company A” in the indictment, was PSC Group LLC, an information technology consulting firm in Schaumburg, according to a source familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. Fremarek worked at PSC, including as chief financial officer, from 2003 to 2019, according to Fremarek’s LinkedIn account.

Fremarek was first elected to the Plainfield Township Board in 2009 and then as supervisor in 2013. The township website states that Fremarek is an “advocate for transparency.”

A call to township administrator Chuck Willard was unanswered Thursday.

Fremarek also worked as the treasurer for the campaign of state Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, who said Thursday he removed Fremarek from the role in light of the news.

“We’re blown away,” Batinick said of the news of Fremarek being charged. “We’re all just in utter shock.”

Batinick said he didn’t know much about the circumstances of Fremarek’s alleged crimes. Still, the state lawmaker said he needed to “do the right thing” and remove Fremarek from his role handling money for his campaign.

Fremarek appeared in court Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes and pleaded not guilty. He was ordered released on a $250,000 bond, Fitzpatrick said.

Multiple calls to Fremarek were not returned on Thursday.