A Peoria man has copped to cook the books, pleading guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and laundry money. Richard Weiss, 62, entered his plea for creating bogus financial docs, including inflated bank statements and phony tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois.
On the scam's scorecard, Weiss, who resides on North Knoxville Avenue, faces up to 30 years in the clink, a quarter-million in fines for the bank fraud rap, not to mention he's looking at another 20 years for money laundering, which could also cost him up to half a mil or double the bucks involved in the hustle.
The fraudster's fall from grace was laid bare in federal court, with Weiss admitting he let co-defendant Chad D. Campen lead him down the crooked path, resulting in a con that spanned almost seven years, starting from August 2015 and until about January 2022 as the government presented in court.
Weiss' dirty deals included pumping up Campen's bank balance by a cool $200,000 when the reality was much less flush, all so Campen could flaunt a fat wallet to banks and others they were duping their since-2015 scheme targeted several financial institutions, such as Community State Bank, which calls Galva, Illinois, home but spreads its branches across Central Illinois.
While Weiss has wrapped up his chapter in the fraud saga, Campen's tale is set to unfold come April 8, when his trial is slated to start, though it's worth remembering that the indictment he's facing is just that – allegations, with his guilt not yet a done deal.
The Feds, including ace agents from the FBI's Springfield Field Office and tax sleuths from the IRS, played a part in sniffing out the financial shenanigans, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas F. McMeyer on deck to take the government's swings at prosecution.
