3 Accused Of Stealing $700K From Lake Co. Village's Bank Account

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Three people faces charges for allegations they stole about $700,000 from the village of Winthrop Harbor's bank account.

Phillip Sanders, Vanessa Yarbrough and Patrick Dickens have been charged with theft, continuing financial crimes enterprise, misappropriation of financial institution property, money laundering and structuring a transition.

The charges come following an investigation by the Winthrop Harbor Police Department, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and multiple law enforcement agencies.

In February 2024, police in Winthrop Harbor began an investigation and alerted the Lake County State's Attorney's Office's financial crimes and public integrity division after village officials reported unauthorized transactions involving the village's bank account.

The fraudulent transactions, spanning from October 2022 to October 2023 totaled $700,000. The bank’s fraud department was able to recover and return a significant amount of these funds to the village, according to a news release from the state's attorney's office.

A criminal intelligence analyst with the county and financial analysts from Homeland Security Investigations helped track transactions, find wire transfers, identify bank accounts linked to the fraudulent activities and identify multiple suspects who resided in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Memphis, Tennessee.

Following the investigation, a nationwide extradition warrant was issued for the arrest of Sanders, Yarbrough and Dickens. On Feb. 27, detectives with Winthrop Harbor and Memphis police executed search warrants at multiple addresses in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Tennessee.

Sanders, Yarbrough and Dickens were all taken into custody. Additional charges are expected against other suspects in the investigation, according to authorities.