Disbarred lawyer sentenced for using then-girlfriend’s identity to take out over $82K in loans
A disbarred Illinois lawyer has been sentenced to six years in prison for using his then-girlfriend’s identifying information to obtain four bank loans totaling $82,700. (Image from Shutterstock)
A disbarred Illinois lawyer has been sentenced to six years in prison for using his then-girlfriend’s identifying information to obtain four bank loans totaling $82,700.
Former Glendale Heights, Illinois, lawyer Leonard Samuel DeFranco, 71, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of identity theft of more than $10,000 but less than $100,000, according to a March 28 press release by the DuPage County, Illinois, state’s attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said the sentence stems from conduct that happened over an 18-month period ending in June 2017. The victim discovered the loans when she ran a credit report.
Publications with coverage include WGN-TV, Fox 32 Chicago, Patch and the Daily Herald.
The Illinois Supreme Court disbarred DeFranco in March 2024 based on a recommendation by a review board.
The review board affirmed findings that DeFranco misappropriated $161,608 in client funds from the sale of a business. He used the money to pay for personal expenses, including payments for furniture, groceries and restaurants, the review board said. He also used the money to cover expenses for his law firm and a company that he owned, Futter’s Nut Butter Inc.
DeFranco then obtained a $180,000 loan from a client to repay the client money without complying with required safeguards, the review board said. DeFranco had claimed that the money was a gift. The client who loaned him the money sued and obtained a judgment for the amount of the loan plus legal fees.
DeFranco discharged the debt in a bankruptcy proceeding.
DeFranco was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1978. He was also suspended for 30 days in 2011 for charging an excessive fee, the review board said.
“Although we recognize that disbarment is an extremely harsh sanction,” the review board said, “the record contains almost no evidence demonstrating that [DeFranco] is likely to practice law in an ethical manner in the future.”
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