Former Algonquin lawyer admits stealing from clients

A disbarred Algonquin attorney accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients faces up to four years in prison after admitting guilt Monday to some of the charges against him.

Stephen E. Ford, 55, pleaded guilty to two felony theft charges as part of a deal struck with McHenry County prosecutors on the morning he was scheduled to go to trial on six theft counts that could have put him behind bars for up to seven years.

Under the agreement, prosecutors dismissed the other four counts and will seek no more than four years in prison when Ford is sentenced July 24. The deal also requires him to pay more than $137,000 restitution to five of his victims.

Ford, a former Algonquin resident who practiced law in an office near the village's downtown, apologized for his actions as he left the McHenry County courthouse.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel remorse about the things I've done to my victims and to my family," he said.

His defense lawyer, Mark Gummerson, blamed his client's actions on a gambling addiction and said he would be seeking probation.

"Because he was a lawyer, people want to see him thrown in prison," Gummerson said, "but we all make mistakes."

Ford voluntarily surrendered his law license in November 2005 as the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission was bringing charges against him for misappropriating client funds and punching a client during a dispute outside his office.

Today, Gummerson said, Ford lives in South Carolina and works for a tree-cutting service.

Authorities say Ford stole the money by accepting settlement payments from personal injury, workers' compensation and other cases on his clients' behalf, but turned over a only portion of the money -- or none at all.

As a lawyer Ford was best known locally for his representation of Betty Gooch, an Algonquin woman who made national headlines for her string of car thefts from suburban auto dealerships.