Ryan A. Thorpe, 44, the former Treasurer of the City of Zeigler, Illinois, stood in federal court in Benton today and admitted to stealing $321,399.22 from the city he was sworn to serve. Thorpe pled guilty to five counts of wire fraud and embezzlement from a local government, capping a four-year crime spree that gutted municipal funds and shattered public trust.
From March 4, 2013, through August 3, 2017, Thorpe systematically looted the City of Zeigler’s general account by writing unauthorized checks payable to himself. To cover his tracks, he altered bank records sent to city officials—using correction fluid to erase his name as payee, inserting legitimate vendor names, photocopying the fakes, and shredding the originals. He then filed false monthly Treasurer’s Reports to the Zeigler City Council, ensuring no alarm was raised.
U.S. Attorney Donald S. Boyce didn’t mince words: ‘Corruption by public officials simply cannot be tolerated. Officials who steal from the citizens they are elected and appointed to represent commit a gross abuse of public trust.’ He vowed that his office will aggressively prosecute such betrayals whenever uncovered.
As part of his plea agreement, Thorpe has agreed to return property bought with stolen cash. That includes a side-by-side utility vehicle, two motorcycles, a utility trailer, a lady’s diamond ring, multiple firearms, a gun safe, and a four-propeller drone—totaling $35,872.74. He also agreed to forfeit additional assets to the federal government: another side-by-side, a portable building, a lot and trailer across from his home, five vacant Zeigler lots, two retirement accounts worth about $9,000, and a camper.
Proceeds from the sale of forfeited assets will be directed toward restitution. Thorpe acknowledged he owes the City of Zeigler exactly $321,399.22, minus credit for returned and forfeited property. The financial reckoning will follow the court’s final judgment.
Sentencing is set for June 12, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. at the Federal Courthouse in Benton. Thorpe faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and 10 years per embezzlement count, with fines up to $250,000 per charge. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Springfield Division, Marion Resident Agency, with support from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Verseman.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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