A senior member of the banking institution Wintrust Bank arrived at
the Des Plaines Police station on December 4, 2022 to report fraud that had occurred at the Village Bank and Trust (a subsidiary of Wintrust Bank) in the block of 1500 Ellinwood Street in Des Plaines.
The senior member of the bank stated that on September 5, 2022, the subject, later identified as Robert Krilich, arrived at the Des Plaines branch location to open a savings account, and provided the representative with a government service ID card, Geico Insurance Card, and Nevada driver’s license.
After opening the account, Krilich additionally deposited four savings bonds. On October 14, 2022, a report was run on the account opened because it was overdrawn by approximately $20,756.00 due to chargebacks. This report alerted the branch of possible fraud and an internal investigation ensured. The result of the investigation was that the account was opened with fraudulent information and that two of the bonds provided at the time were verified as fraudulent. On December 3, 2022, Krilich entered the Wintrust Bank in the block of 300 East Ohio Street in Chicago, IL 60611 to open an additional account. The employee that was assisting Krilich asked if he would be willing to return to the location on Monday, December 5, due to the branch being unexpectedly busy. The employee had recognized Krilich from an internal flier regarding his fraudulent activity and wanted to arrange an alternative time for him to come in so police could be notified. Krilich agreed and in the meantime, the senior representative of the bank filed the above report with DPPD. The incident was immediately assigned to the Detective Bureau for follow-up.
CHARGEBACK
A chargeback is a charge that is returned to a payment card, such as a debit card (and the underlying bank account) or credit card, after a customer successfully disputes an item on their account statement or transactions report. A chargeback may occur on debit cards or on credit cards. Chargebacks can be granted to a cardholder for a variety of reasons.
During the Des Plaines detective’s investigation, search results were obtained regarding the information on the identifications Krilich had provided the bank, which led to the discovery of a 60 year-old victim, who lives outside of Illinois. The detective contacted the victim, who stated that he lives out of state and that he had never possessed a Nevada driver’s license. Additionally, he stated that he did not open a bank account through Wintrust Bank, nor did he authorize anyone to do so in his name. The social security number and the rest of the information was cross-referenced with the victim’s personal information, and all indicators of identification matched the victim.
On December 5, Detectives began surveilling the Wintrust Bank in Chicago, IL around the time Krilich was to come in. While doing so, Krilich walked into the branch and again spoke with an employee attempting to open a checking account with another name, not related to the original victim. Detectives approached Krilich and took him into custody, which was when his true identity was learned. A search of Krilich and his personal items was conducted and amongst items located were the fraudulent documentation mentioned above for the victim. Krilich was transported to the Des Plaines Police station for further investigation.
Des Plaines Police Department Detectives also obtained video footage from inside of the Village Bank and Trust and along with speaking with the employee that had opened the account for Krilich, identified Krilich as the subject. At the station, Detectives provided Krilich with his Miranda Rights which he acknowledged he understood and waived them, agreeing to give a statement. During said statement, Krilich admitted to receiving numerous ID cards and documents from out of state, which he used to open bank accounts. A still image of the subject was shown to Krilich from one of the banks where he identified himself. Krilich further admitted to specifically using fraudulent IDs to open a bank account in the victim’s name, and after depositing the fraudulent bonds, withdrew $20,000.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office was contacted and due to the nature of the incident and the age of the victim, approved felony charges on Krilich. Krilich was subsequently arrested for one felony count each of …
Forgery, Fraudulent Identification Card, Financial Institution Fraud; and
Aggravated Identify Theft Against a Person 60 Years of Age or Older.
Krilich was held until the following morning where he was transported to the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie, Illinois for bond hearing.
Robert Krilich, age 57, of Crystal Lake was held on $100,000 bond, and his next court date is Thursday, December 9, 2022 at the Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie. His housing location in Cook County Jail is Division 15-HP-HOSPITAL-GENERAL. A booking photo was not available on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
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