Geneva Law Firm Employee Sentenced For Stealing $75,000

GENEVA, IL — A Bartlett man will spend time in prison for stealing more than $75,000 from a Geneva attorney who employed him, according to a release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. On Thursday, Kane County Circuit Judge Clint Hull sentenced 39-year-old Franco Morrone, of the 1200 block of Rose Court, to 4 1/2 years in prison at the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), the state's attorney's office said. Morrone pleaded guilty to felony identity theft and felony theft on March 21, according to the release.

During last week's sentencing, Kane County Assistant State's Attorneys Kelli Schmidt and Sarah Seberger said Morrone reportedly opened a credit card in his employer's name between February 2016 and March 2017, used the credit card to make more than $75,000 worth of personal purchases and also transferred money from his employer's bank account to pay the card's balance, according to the release.

"This crime illustrates Mr. Morrone's greed," Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon said in the release. "He was hired into a position of trust and was well paid, but immediately abused that trust for his own personal gain. It is important to hold people accountable for the damage that these thefts cause to people's lives. My thanks to Geneva Police Det. Bob Pech and ASAs Schmidt and Seberger for their diligent work on this case."

According to the state's attorney's office, Judge Hull also ordered Morrone to pay $75,742.64 in restitution within five years of his prison release.