An Antioch-area marina owner who had his boat rental licenses stripped for allegedly forging documents needed to rent boats on the Chain O’ Lakes was unsuccessful in halting the suspension of his boat rental stickers in court Friday, authorities said.
Steven Wooden, 41, of the 41000 block of North Westlake Avenue in unincorporated Antioch, appeared in Lake County civil court Friday after filing an emergency temporary restraining order to block the Fox Waterway Agency from pulling his boat stickers and his ability to rent boats on the Chain O’ Lakes in 2024.
Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli confirmed the judge did not approve the temporary restraining order and that Anchor Pointe Marina is still not authorized to rent boats this season.
“We just want to make sure people who rent boats on the Chain are aware this marina is not authorized to rent boats to anyone,” Covelli said. “So, anyone who may rent a boat from Wooden or Anchor Pointe Marina could lose their money on the rental.”
Wooden, the owner of Anchor Pointe Marina, is due back in civil court regarding the issue on June 13.
Woodden’s ability to rent boats at Anchor Pointe Marina at 42125 North 4th Avenue in unincorporated Antioch – which is also known as AP Marina – remains revoked by the Fox Waterway Agency for illegally forging necessary IDNR documents needed to send boats out as rental watercrafts, authorities said.
Authorities said the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) requires companies intending to lease boats on the Chain to obtain boat rental license applications, then verifies each boat listed is worthy of being used for commercial purposes.
Following those reviews, the IDNR stamps and signs official forms and sends the forms back to the rental person or company, authorities said, who then submit the applications to the Fox Waterway Agency in Fox Lake.
Wooden submitted IDNR paperwork to the Fox Waterway Agency on April 17 and applied for Fox Waterway commercial use stickers for dozens of boats at Anchor Pointe Marina/AP Marina, authorities said.
The forms submitted by Wooden initially appeared to have been approved and signed by the IDNR or a registered agent, authorities said, and 26 rental stickers were issued to Steven Wooden under the belief the IDNR forms were valid.
Upon further inspection, however, Fox Waterway officials determined the IDNR never issued the forms Wooden provided, authorities said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigation determined Wooden submitted forged documents to the Fox Waterway Agency to rent boats to customers on the Chain O’ Lakes.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Unit reviewed the facts with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office who approved a class 3 felony charges of forgery against Wooden, authorities said.
Wooden was arrested without incident, authorities said. He later appeared in front of a Lake County judge who determined Wooden did not need to be detained in jail while awaiting trial.
Wooden is due back in court July 3 on the forgery charges, court documents show.
Wooden is the husband of Kristen Wooden, owner of ‘The Boatyard’ in unincorporated Antioch, which had numerous run-ins with customers and the law in 2023.
Kristen Wooden, 37, of Antioch, was arrested in July of 2023 following a confrontation with a renter who had an accident with a double-decker pontoon boat.
During an argument, Kristen Wooden grabbed the phone of a customer and threw it into the water while deputies were on the scene, authorities said.
Kristen Wooden was charged with criminal damage to property following that incident.
Several victims came forward after that initial incident claiming they had been scammed by Kristen Wooden over three months, authorities said.
An ensuing investigation resulted in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office charging Kristen Wooden with forgery, unlawful possession of a certificate of title, and three counts of theft.
The most serious charge is a Class 3 felony that could land Kristen Wooden behind bars for up to seven years. The charges are also probationable.