Elgin man gets probation in money laundering case
An Elgin man accused of buying stolen goods in Kane County and Schaumburg recently pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to 30 months probation.
William P. McCormick, 50, of the 1100 block of Country Club Road, will be on probation until November 2014 and must pay $2,625 in fines, according to court records.
McCormick was arrested in October 2011 after a nine-month investigation. Authorities said he bought items from an undercover officer that he thought to be stolen but were in fact donated from retail stores such as Target, The Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Sears, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Several other agencies assisted in the investigation and officers then searched McCormick’s home, a storage facility in Elgin and four other locations in Kane, McHenry and Cook counties.
Detectives recovered $22,000 in cash and several thousand dollars worth of stolen merchandise, authorities said.
According to court documents, McCormick was accused buying $14,890 worth of merchandise he knew to be stolen.
He faced up to seven years in prison on the money laundering charge, but probation also was an option.
Kane County Judge Marmarie Kostelny accepted the guilty plea in which prosecutors dropped additional money laundering charges that carried the same penalty range.
Defense attorney Scott Sheen did not return a phone message.