Chicago cop is accused in $50,000 swindle of dad's estate

Chicago cop is accused in $50,000 swindle of dad's estate



7:22 p.m. CDT, June 29, 2011

A veteran Chicago police officer was charged Wednesday with swindling his elderly father out of more than $50,000 to cover gambling debts and other personal expenses.
Joseph Simpson Jr., 37, also was accused of trying to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars more from his father's retirement fund by posing as his dad.
A 12-year veteran assigned to patrol in the Near North District, Simpson was charged with aggravated identity theft, financial exploitation of an elderly person, theft and wire fraud. On Wednesday, he was out on bond, set at $40,000. He has been stripped of police powers and reassigned to desk duty by the department.
Westmont Prosecutors said Simpson was appointed his father's co-guardian in September 2009, a year after Joe Simpson Sr. was brought to Chicago to live due to his declining mental capacity and poor health. The father died last year at 69.
Within a year of the father being placed in a Westmont nursing facility, more than $60,000 in unpaid bills had mounted, and the Illinois Department of Public Health launched a probe, according to prosecutors.
After the Illinois State Police were called in, it was discovered from bank and charge card records that Simpson spent more than $50,000 from his father's checking accounts on his own personal expenses, including large gambling debts, Assistant State's Attorney Sandra Stavropoulos said.
According to information filed in probate court, Simpson spent $13,000 at a Harrah's Casino shortly before he was removed as his father's guardian.
Simpson also made "multiple calls" in 2009 to JP Morgan Retirement services claiming to be his father, seeking the withdrawal of the victim's entire retirement savings of $102,000, Stavropoulos said.
"The only reason (Simpson) was not able to secure these funds is the fact that the check was mailed to the victim's Kentucky address, where (he) no longer resided," Stavropoulos said.
Simpson, still posing as his dad, made several "frantic attempts" to get the check redelivered to his Chicago address, according to the prosecutor.
Simpson's attorney, Daniel Herbert, described his client as a "decorated officer" with no disciplinary history.
Herbert denied the theft allegations, saying Simpson "mismanaged" some of his dad's finances. He said the probate court already handled the matter properly, and Simpson is making monthly restitution payments to the nursing facility.
"There really is no victim here," Herbert told Criminal Court Judge Laura Sullivan

Please read complete article at link below:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cop-financial-fraud-20110629,0,3265347.story

Editor's note:  No honor among thieves...This cop crook is cheating the thieves at the Probate Court of Cook County out of what they consider (Joe Simpson, Sr.'s property) as their own.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com