Six-Year Sentence For Ex-Special Agent From Naperville

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville man who once worked as a special agent for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was sentenced to six years in federal prison after he was found guilty of taking payoffs and filing false tax returns.

Anthony Sabaini, 41, was convicted in May of filing false tax returns and willfully engaging in a scheme to conceal a material fact in a matter within the jurisdiction of DHS.

In addition to his sentence, Sabaini must pay $93,422 to the Internal Revenue Service.

“Corrupt law enforcement strikes at the heart of our system of government,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Jonathan Shih said in their sentencing memorandum. “When individuals in law enforcement break the law, it makes the job of legitimate law enforcement that much harder because it erodes public trust.”

Authorities say Sabaini had been working at the DHS office in Oakbrook Terrace in the department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) when he told a confidential informant about several federal investigations. Sabaini had been accused protecting the informant in exchange for $50,000. According to federal documents, Sabaini stole investigation money from the HSI and drug dealers during this time.

In total, Sabaini was found to have deposited over $250,000 over 162 transactions in an account in his name. The structuring charges against him were filed because each deposit had been kept under $10,000, which is the federal reporting limit.

Memoranda had shown that in 2017 and 2018, Sabaini concealed material facts about the informant. He was also accused of misrepresenting his total income on his tax returns.