Ex-Chicago police commander charged with stealing $360,000 from Social Security

The Chicago Tribune reports:

A former Chicago police commander who earned praise for overseeing big reductions in violence in one of the city’s most historically dangerous districts has been charged with stealing more than $360,000 in Social Security funds in a scheme lasting more than 23 years.

A one-page criminal information filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court accused Kenneth Johnson of bilking the Social Security Administration out of $363,064 from about June 1994 to November 2017.


Although the charge does not contain any more details, sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Chicago Tribune that Johnson is accused of stealing benefits intended for his mother. The charge also makes no mention of Johnson’s former role with the Police Department. The 32-year CPD veteran retired in August.

Johnson, 54, is scheduled to be arraigned later this month before U.S. District Judge Manish Shah, court records show.

Defendants charged by criminal information typically plead guilty.

One sad story.