Darrell Willis registered a fake business with a name similar to Aurora-based Cyl-Tec as part of a scheme to take nearly $450,000 from the company last year, according to authorities.
Willis, a 34-year-old accountant from Newark, is charged with two counts of felony theft from Cyl-Tec between March and May 2016. Aurora police confirmed that the case involves $444,000 in checks, as well as $4,035 in Amazon purchases and $1,177 for airline tickets. Willis, who is free on $30,000 bail, appeared for a status hearing before Kane County Judge John Barsanti Friday.
Prosecutors are asking Barsanti to quash a subpoena issued by Willis’ attorney that seeks a bevy of information – including computer servers, a wide range of financial documents and emails – from Cyl-Tec. Prosecutors contend the materials as a whole have no relevance to the theft allegations.
The filing describes how Willis created a fictitious, but similarly named, business and registered it with the state of Illinois. Using a stamped signature of one of the owners, Willis wrote checks from a Cyl-Tec account to the fake company and deposited them into an associated account before transferring money into his personal account, according to the motion, which also mentions he purchased a TV from Amazon and two plane tickets.
Barsanti scheduled a hearing for March 22.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
