Former Moecherville water district board president accused of stealing funds

A former Moecherville Water District board president is facing federal charges after being accused of stealing district funds, officials said.

Mark McDonald, 57, of Aurora, is charged with stealing $33,597 in property mortgaged and pledged to the Secretary of Agriculture, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

The federal charges include: 15 counts of disposal and conversion of property mortgaged and pledged to the secretary, one count of making a false statement and three counts of filing a false tax return, according to the release.

Officials said McDonald committed these offenses between April 2009 and February 2013. Between 2005 and 2006, the water district received $2.7 million in federal funds for facility reconstruction projects. To pay back the loans, the district had to mortgage and pledge to the secretary its property and assets, as well as its revenues, which included water payments provided by residents, the release said.

Between July 2010 and October 2010, the indictment alleges McDonald "converted to his own use" water district property in the form of cash water payments and bank account funds.

"As the Board President of the Moecherville Water District, Mr. McDonald had a responsibility to water district customers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that customer funds were handled with accountability and integrity," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Zachary T. Fardon said in the news release. "Mr. McDonald violated the trust of the residents of Moecherville by stealing some of that money for his own personal use."

McDonald was released on an unsecured bond Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in court April 28.