California man sentenced in Chicago fraud scheme

A federal judge has sentenced a California man to 16 months in prison and a $40,000 fine in a conspiracy to defraud the city of Chicago.

Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo also ordered Steven Fenzl to pay more than $35,000 in restitution. The fraud was in connection with contracts to repair garbage containers from 2004 to 2008.

A jury convicted Fenzl of mail and wire fraud last September.

Federal prosecutors claimed Fenzl and his partners manipulated the contract process by submitting sham bids on behalf of competitors and won the contract.

Fenzl’s business partner, Douglas Ritter, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in May and ordered to pay restitution. Ritter pleaded guilty to a single fraud charge and agreed to cooperate in the investigation.