Suburban Chicago Lawyer Accused of Asking Priest to Help Cover Stolen Firm Cash

A suburban Chicago lawyer has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former law firm and asking a priest to use church funds to cover some of the missing cash.

The lawyer, Steven Gustafson of Naperville, Ill., was charged with theft up to $500,000, forgery, financial institution fraud and continuing a financial crimes enterprise, the Daily Herald reports.

Gustafson’s law firm, James, Gustafson & Thompson, dissolved in 2006. He is accused of stealing firm trust account money beginning in 2001 and using it to pay his own business and personal expenses, according to the story.

A pending disciplinary complaint against Gustafson alleges misuse of more than $1 million in funds, the story says. The complaint by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission says Gustafson urged a client's parish priest to use $577,000 of church treasury money to cover an account with money that may have been looted by the lawyer. The priest refused, but persuaded a parishioner to offer $77,000, according to the ARDC.