Chicago Man Convicted of Financial Institution Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

PEORIA, Ill. – A federal jury returned guilty verdicts against Christopher Simmons, 40, of Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 2021, for three counts of financial institution fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Sentencing for Simmons has been scheduled for February 24, 2022, at the U.S. Courthouse in Peoria, Illinois.

Over two days of testimony, the government presented evidence to establish that Adreen Canterberry obtained a $49,900 loan from Citizens Equity First Credit Union for the purchase of a 2016 Audi from Simmons. The evidence showed that Simmons did not own the car and that the information provided about the car came from an eBay listing. After Simmons got the $49,900, he used a stolen social security number, false address, and false earnings statements to seek car loans and credit cards from CEFCU. CEFCU alerted the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department about the fraud and when Simmons went into one of the CEFCU offices to obtain a car loan, he was arrested.

Canterberry previously pleaded guilty to financial institution fraud and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, five years supervised release, $10,000 fine, and $49,900 in restitution.

Simmons remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. At sentencing, Simmons faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years imprisonment, a maximum $1,000,000 fine, and maximum supervised release terms of five years for each of the financial institution fraud counts. He also faces a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft count, as well as a maximum one-year term of supervised release and a maximum $250,000 fine.

The investigation was conducted by the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department and the United States Secret Service. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Darilynn Knauss and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas F. McMeyer represented the government at trial.