USA v. O'Brien et al

  1. February 06, 2018

    Ill. Judge Lied Repeatedly In $1.4M Scheme, Gov't Says

    Cook County, Illinois, Circuit Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien lied over and over as she applied for loans related to her two Chicago income properties, conning lenders out of more than $300,000, prosecutors said at the start of Judge O'Brien's fraud trial Tuesday.

  2. February 02, 2018

    Ill. Judge's Fraud Trial A Rare Moment For The Bench

    A Cook County, Illinois, circuit court judge is set to face a federal jury Monday on charges she fraudulently obtained $1.4 million in mortgage and commercial loans before she took the bench, the first time in years that a sitting Illinois judge has been tried on criminal charges in federal court.

  3. January 31, 2018

    Plea Deal For Ex-Ill. Judge's Accomplice Calls For Prison

    The co-conspirator of a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme orchestrated by a former Cook County judge faces up to three years in prison and will pay $675,000 in restitution, according to her plea deal filed in Illinois federal court Tuesday.

  4. January 29, 2018

    Ex-Ill. Judge Loses New Bid To Duck Mortgage Fraud Charges

    For the third time in as many months, former Cook County Judge Jessica O'Brien's bid to escape an indictment alleging she orchestrated a $1.4 mortgage fraud was denied Monday, striking yet another blow to her defense strategy just a few days after her co-conspirator admitted guilt in the case.

  5. January 26, 2018

    Judge's Co-Defendant Cops To Role In $1.4M Mortgage Fraud

    The co-defendant of an Illinois state judge charged with running a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme prior to her time on the bench pled guilty Friday to the single count of mail fraud she faced from the ploy.

  6. January 17, 2018

    Ex-Ill. Judge Must Face Mortgage Fraud Charges: Court

    A former Illinois county judge's efforts to escape criminal fraud charges failed again Tuesday when a federal court rejected her argument that the grand jury testimony was perjured and declined to dismiss the indictment.

  7. July 11, 2017

    Judge Charged With Mortgage Fraud Drops Speedy-Trial Bid

    An Illinois state judge charged in a scheme to defraud lenders through two Chicago properties asked an Illinois federal judge on Monday to strike her August trial date, after several weeks of pushing for a speedy trial, so that an alleged co-conspirator could comply with subpoenas.

  8. July 06, 2017

    Ill. Judge Charged In Fraud Scheme Says Gov't Targeted Her

    Prosecutors patched together a shoddy indictment to charge Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien on mortgage fraud charges, her attorney told an Illinois federal judge Thursday, saying they stretched the facts to capture a high value target.

  9. June 07, 2017

    Indictment Of Chicago Judge Should Stand, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors pushed back on assertions by an Illinois county judge that they failed to make a mortgage fraud case against her, telling a federal court Tuesday that the seven transactions alleged in the indictment all constitute a single scheme involving two Chicago properties.

  10. May 17, 2017

    Ill. Judge Says Gov't Can't Pin Her In $1.4M Mortgage Scheme

    An Illinois county judge indicted as part of a $1.4 million mortgage fraud plot asked the federal judge overseeing her case to dismiss the charges Tuesday, arguing the individual transactions the government outlines don’t constitute a cohesive scheme that she can defend herself against.