Homeland Security investigator from Naperville charged with financial crimes
A Homeland Security Investigations agent from the department's Oakbrook Terrace office is facing a charge that he made suspicious deposits, totaling $251,371, into his personal bank account.
Anthony Sabaini, 38, of Naperville is charged with structuring financial transactions to evade a federal law that requires financial institutions to notify the Treasury Department of currency transactions of $10,000 or more. He did so by making 162 deposits of less than $10,000 apiece, according to an indictment.
Sabaini was assigned to investigate narcotics and money laundering offenses, according to the indictment. It says he was a lead instructor on a training course for money laundering and financial investigations.
A grand jury indicted Sabaini Wednesday on five counts of willfully filing a false federal income tax return, one count of structuring a currency transaction, and one count of willfully engaging in a scheme to conceal a material fact in a Homeland Security investigation.
The indictment states that from 2014 to 2018 Sabaini deposited the cash into a bank account for which he was the sole signatory. Seven deposits were made via a bank teller; 155 were done at an ATM, the indictment states.
The indictment also says Sabaini filed false tax returns those years, underreporting his income.
He also is charged with concealment for allegedly submitting false memorandums to his supervisors in 2017 and 2018. He was seeking approval to use and pay a confidential informant in a criminal investigation.
The indictment states he knowingly covered up that the informant was the target of ongoing drug investigations by the FBI and DEA, and that the informant had recently engaged in unauthorized criminal conduct that Sabaini knew would affect the informant's suitability as a paid informant.
Each of the tax charges is punishable by up to three years in prison; structuring and concealment are each punishable by up to five years in prison.
Sabaini will be arraigned on a date to be set by the court, officials said.