Margaret Banas, 27, of Harvard.

A former office manager at a business near Lake Villa has been sentenced to probation and ordered to repay nearly $60,000 that she stole from the company.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after taking a financial crime report in 2021, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said in June 2022.

Covelli said that Margaret Banas, 27, of Harvard, was identified as a suspect.

A business located in the 23300 block of Apollo Court in unincorporated Lake Villa reported that Banas, who was their business office manager, was stealing from them.

The report was forwarded to financial crime detectives and an investigation ensued.

Sheriff’s detectives were able to determine Banas had been issuing herself numerous unauthorized checks from the business and forging the signatures of the company’s owners, Covelli said.

She was also crediting herself with reimbursement pay for items that were never actually purchased by her, Covelli said.

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Sheriff’s detectives obtained all of the financial records via subpoena and other legal means and then reviewed the case with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The state’s attorney’s office authorized an arrest warrant for continuing a financial crime enterprise, theft, money laundering and forgery in June 2022.

Banas surrendered herself to the sheriff’s office on the warrant shortly after it was issued.

She posted 10% of a $25,000 bond and was released from the Lake County Jail pending trial.

Court records show Banas entered into a negotiated plea agreement with the state’s attorney’s office last month.

She pleaded guilty to one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony, in exchange for her other charges being dismissed.

Banas received second chance probation as part of the plea deal. The conviction will not be entered on her record as long as she successfully complies with the terms of her sentence.

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Banas will be on probation for 48 months, was ordered to pay $59,000 in restitution and was ordered not to consume alcohol or drugs, not possess weapons, maintain employment, have no contact with the victim and pay over $3,000 in court fines and fees.