A Cook County man is facing serious charges after Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office accused him of leveraging stolen personal information to unlawfully obtain and then sell vehicles online. Stephen Walker, 34, of South Holland, Illinois, has been hit with multiple felony charges, including possession of a stolen motor vehicle and money laundering.
According to the indictment, Walker allegedly conned dealerships across Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan out of over $620,000 in vehicles. Charged in Will County Circuit Court, his plea was not guilty, and the proceedings are set to continue with a court date on Nov. 14, as reported by the Attorney General's office.
It is alleged that Walker used the ill-acquired personal information to fake loan applications through various dealerships. Meeting the delivery drivers in hospital parking lots, he claimed to be a surgical nurse and promptly resold the vehicles through Facebook Marketplace, armed with fraudulent Arkansas titles bearing identical control numbers.
This case punctuates the collaborative efforts between state offices to combat fraud. "My office has fostered partnerships with law enforcement and government agencies across jurisdictions in order to more effectively protect Illinois residents where they live and work, and when they are online,” declared Raoul. A sentiment echoed by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias who, appreciating Raoul's swift actions, said, "With online criminal activity quickly evolving, we must do all that we can to protect the personal information of Illinoisans from fraud, theft and abuse."
While reminding the public of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the Attorney General's office also calls on consumers to report scams and file complaints through their website. The Statewide Grand Jury Bureau, led by Assistant Attorney General Neal Thompson in this case, continues to spearhead prosecutions in multi-county crimes involving sophisticated criminal operations.
