Prosecutors: Lake Zurich woman used Mt. Prospect couple's personal info in credit card scheme

A Lake Zurich woman who prosecutors say used personal information from a Mount Prospect couple to fraudulently obtain credit cards was ordered held on $55,000 bail Thursday.

Dorota Kozlowski, 48, was charged with a continuing financial crimes enterprise and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she could face up to 12 years in prison. Kozlowski was hired by the couple, who are in their 60s, to help them consolidate debt, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis.

“In her role as financial adviser, she advised them not to open any mail from financial institutions” and to forward that mail to her, Kalliantasis said.

Between July 2017 and December 2017, she used the couple's personal identification information to obtain at least seven credit cards from at least five financial institutions, Kalliantasis said.

She used the credit cards to make purchases at Pottery Barn and Victoria's Secret, as well as make payments to an AT&T account linked to her husband, Kalliantasis said. She also used the credit cards to fund a student account at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Kalliantasis said. According to Stevenson's Facebook page, the account links to a student's ID card, which he or she can use to buy items from the cafeteria or school store.

Altogether, Kozlowski's purchases exceeded $12,000, he said.

Kozlowski's background includes a felony conviction for theft by deception from 2012 and a misdemeanor conviction for deceptive practices from 2011, Kalliantasis said.

She next appears in court Aug. 2.