Man gets probation for stealing financial data

A Chicago man was sentenced to two years of probation Monday for stealing the financial information of four Lake County residents and using it to obtain credit cards.

David Dright, 39, also had financial records of more than 90 Major League Baseball players when he was arrested in December 2006.

Assistant State's Attorney Marykay Foy said Dright obtained credit information from four men who lived in Lincolnshire, Lake Forest, Lindenhurst and Wadsworth.

Police were alerted when the Lincolnshire man called them and said he had been notified someone was applying for credit cards under his name and using a Chicago address.

Lincolnshire police obtained a search warrant for Dright's home at 5246 W. Chicago Ave., Apt. 3W, and discovered the trove of the ballplayers' documents.

Dright told police he stole the documents from a Dumpster behind SFX Baseball Inc., a Northbrook-based financial management agency.

Information regarding the finances of players such as Jim Thome, Moises Alou, Pedro Martinez and Juan Pierre were among the documents discovered.

Dright told Circuit Judge George Bridges he had hatched the scheme because he was unable to work because of a back injury and had serious financial problems.

During a hearing in November, he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated financial identity theft and four counts of financial identity theft.

Foy said police stepped in before Dright had a chance to use the credit cards or sell any of the information, so no money was lost.

Bridges also ordered Dright to pay a $250 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.

He also barred Dright from taking any job that exposed him to the financial records of others, including Dright's mother's real estate firm where Dright had been training for a position.