CHICAGO — David W. Brown, a 55-year-old Chicago resident, has entered a guilty plea in federal court for his role in an elaborate scheme that defrauded utility companies out of over $5 million. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Brown admitted to arranging electricity and natural gas services for two thousand Chicago-area properties without any intention of payment.
In a plea agreement, Brown confessed that he charged property owners and tenants a fee in exchange for setting up false utility accounts under their names. He then exploited a 90-day to several-month delay by utility companies before service termination to provide free services to the addresses. Brown used fake customer information to open new accounts at the same address once an attempt was made to terminate the original service.
By charging between $50 and $150 every few months, Brown amassed substantial payments while his victims unknowingly enjoyed free utilities. The DOJ stated that from 2017 to 2024, Brown’s fraudulent activities impacted more than two thousand residential and commercial properties in the Chicago area.
Brown faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for his conviction on a federal wire fraud charge. Sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2025, before U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt.
The guilty plea was made public by Andrew S. Boutros, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick D. Young represents the government in this case.
Documents related to Brown’s plea agreement can be accessed through the provided link: brown_plea_agreement.pdf.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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