Carpentersville embezzlement charges dropped because records destroyed

A Kane County judge Wednesday dismissed charges against a secretary accused of embezzling more than $1 million from a Carpentersville commercial real estate firm because computer records were erased.

Katherine Dohme, 31, formerly of Elgin and now living in Clearwater, Fla., faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted of felony theft and misuse of credit card.

Prosecutors charged her with using business and personal checks for Commercial Property Associates of Carpentersville between January 2001 and September 2006.

Judge Timothy Sheldon sided with defense attorneys, who argued that Carl Swanson, the business owner, had destroyed key computer records against a court order and compromised Dohme's ability to prepare for trial.

“(The defendant) is deprived of its opportunity to provide a defense,” Sheldon said.

The charges were dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning prosecutors cannot refile them in the future.

A tearful Dohme left the court without commenting.

An angry Swanson brought a binder of photocopied checks and bank statements to support his claim that Dohme swindled him out of nearly $1.4 million.

“I have all the evidence to convict her,” Swanson said outside of court. “This is the most incredible, unbelievable thing ever imagined.”

He said he provided financial records to Dohme's defense attorneys, who had a break-in at their law office in which the copied records were stolen.

Swanson said he went to replicate the files, but the computer Dohme had used while employed at his office had crashed.

Defense attorney Michael Norris filed a motion to dismiss the charges, saying Swanson disobeyed a May 2007 court order to preserve evidence.

“The destruction of these records was solely done by Carl Swanson himself. The prosecution has in no way condoned such behavior and in no way is responsible for the conduct of Swanson,” read part of Norris' motion.

“In this case as with every case, we followed the law, we followed our professional obligations and we followed our ethical obligations,” said Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon. “We invested a great deal of time into this case, and we remained committed to the pursuit of justice. But despite our best efforts, the victim's own actions, as the custodian of the records, resulted in the dismissal of the charges. When the records that were central to the case were compromised, the judge had no choice but to dismiss the charges, and that was the correct decision under the law. The remedy for the destruction of evidence is dismissal.”

Swanson, though, has a pending lawsuit against Dohme. Both sides are next due in court on Jan. 13.