A Waukegan police officer was charged and has pleaded guilty after he collected money while falsifying the number of hours he worked for overtime shifts, prosecutors said.
The Waukegan Police Department launched an internal investigation in December after receiving an anonymous complaint about Officer Timothy Schuch.
The complaint alleged that Schuch, 36, of Gurnee, was not fully working his scheduled overtime traffic detail shifts, prosecutors said.
The investigation found that Schuch falsified the number of hours worked on a State of Illinois reimbursed traffic detail program, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Schuch also submitted false timesheets for hours of work he did not perform and was paid for that work in excess of $500.
Schuch was charged in February with two counts of official misconduct, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of theft between $500 and $10,000, a Class 3 felony.
Schuch entered into a negotiated plea agreement with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
He pleaded guilty to an amended count of theft under $500, a Class A misdemeanor, in exchange for his other charges being dismissed.
Lake County Judge Stephen DeRue accepted the plea deal, which involved Schuch being ordered to pay $1,609.37 in restitution to the City of Waukegan and $439 in court fines and fees.
The restitution has since been paid in full and Schuch was also to be decertified as a police officer by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board as part of the plea.
Attorney Patrick Brady, who represented Schuch, said in court that the specific charge his client pleaded guilty to involved him being assigned overtime for writing speeding tickets but Schuch was at home on his couch despite submitting a full eight-hour work day.
Schuch was sworn in as an officer with the Waukegan Police Department in September 2020.
He was selected as the department’s employee of the month in July 2022 and recognized for conducting a high-risk traffic stop where two loaded handguns were recovered and two suspects were arrested.
“Officer Schuch, thank you for your dedication and service to the City of Waukegan!” the police department said in a social media post in August 2022.