Fraud lawsuit settled

A lawsuit filed by two hotel owners who claimed they were wrongly charged with selling credit card numbers to a scam artist has been settled. John Seo and John Rhee alleged that in 2006 the Will County sheriff's police worked with an informant and developed false evidence against them and 10 area hotel owners or employees. They were charged with multiple counts of identity theft, computer fraud and unlawful use of an account number. Will County prosecutors later dropped the charges, saying the state's informant was compromised, making his testimony either inadmissible or suspect if a trial were to be held. But Seo and Rhee said the negative publicity threatened to ruin business at the Holiday Inn they own. Attorneys for Seo and Rhee and the Will County state's attorney's office refused to reveal the amount of the settlement. Others charged in the case have lawsuits pending against the county.