An Antioch man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he embezzled millions of dollars from a non-profit organization where he worked as an executive director.
William Schneider, 54, of Antioch, served as executive director of a non-profit organization that developed and provided affordable housing to low-income residents and senior citizens in the Chicago area and Florida.
Schneider fraudulently transferred cash and real estate interests from the non-profit to himself from 2018 to 2022, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The indictment said Schneider concealed the fraud by fabricating documents that falsely reflected the transfers had been authorized.
The real estate interests included the rights to use the roof of a senior living facility owned by the non-profit in Northlake as a location for a cell phone tower, the indictment said.
The indictment alleges Schneider in early 2022 caused the non-profit to assign its interest in a cell phone tower lease to a company owned and controlled by himself in exchange for no money or other consideration.
Schneider soon after sold the interest in the roof to a third-party real estate company for approximately $500,000, prosecutors said.
The charges also allege that Schneider solicited and obtained kickbacks or bribes from brokerage and architectural firms retained by the non-profit for development projects in Illinois and Florida.
The indictment said Schneider also schemed to take complete financial control of a senior living facility in Calumet Park that had been owned and developed by the non-profit.
Schneider is facing five counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.
While prosecutors did not disclose the name of the organization, Schneider’s LinkedIn profile lists him as working for Turnstone Development Corporation, based in Northlake, from July 2008 to August 2022.
An arraignment hearing has not yet been scheduled.