Patrick D. Thompson, False Statement and Tax Offenses, Illinois 2023

Chicago Attorney Charged with False Statement and Tax Offenses

CHICAGO — A Chicago attorney, PATRICK D. THOMPSON, 51, was indicted today on false statement and tax charges in connection with funds he received from Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

Thompson is charged with five counts of willfully filing a false income tax return and two counts of knowingly making a false statement to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by law enforcement officials, including John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jay N. Lerner, Inspector General of the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General; and other federal officials.

According to the charges, Thompson received $219,000 from Chicago-based Washington Federal via a purported loan and other unsecured payments from 2011 to 2014. He made one re-payment on the loan but then stopped making payments, and he failed to pay interest on the funds he received, the indictment states.

When the FDIC, as successor in interest to Washington Federal, attempted to obtain repayment from Thompson in 2018, he falsely stated that he owed only $110,000 and that those funds were for home improvement, when Thompson knew he had actually received $219,000 and that $110,000 of it was paid by the bank to a law firm as Thompson’s capital contribution, the indictment states.

The tax charges accuse Thompson of falsely representing on five years of income taxes that he paid interest on money he received from Washington Federal, even though he knew he did not pay interest in the amounts reported on the returns.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thompson's arraignment has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in federal prison for each false statement count and up to three years for each tax count.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-attorney-charged-false-statement-and-tax-offenses-connection-funds-received