Will County Judge Jennifer Lynch ruled Wednesday that Jeff Regnier and Greta Keranen were entitled to damages from the U.S. Secret Service and Will County state’s attorney’s office after investment assets seized from them were sold.
“Today’s a really good day,” said attorney Frank Andreano, who represents the couple. “It’s a very important ruling.”
“Long time coming,” Keranen agreed.
Regnier and Keranen, who own Kee Construction and Kee Firearms and Training in New Lenox, were found not guilty of fraud charges in November 2025. Additional charges against the two were dismissed in December 2025 and their seized property was ordered returned, according to Lynch’s order.
Investment and retirement accounts seized from Keranen and Regnier had been liquidated, and when their assets were returned the two received the amount the assets were sold for, rather than what they would be worth now, Andreano said.
“The court finds that the conversion of such accounts was against the practice of the federal government,” Lynch wrote in her ruling, noting the assets could have been frozen instead of sold.
Andreano estimated the difference between what the assets were sold for and what they would be worth now at about $2 million, plus interest.
“The judge’s ruling is, whether it’s digital or whether it’s paper, you can’t sell it until you own it,” Andreano said. “You never sell stocks or bonds until the final gavel falls.”
The next step will be a hearing on Oct. 21 where expert witnesses will testify to the value of the assets, Andreano said.
Andreano expects prosecutors to appeal the ruling.
“This is just a very important step towards finality,” Andreano said. “And it’s an important step, hopefully, toward accountability.”
It’s not yet clear how much Regnier and Keranen might recover in damages. The money from the liquidated assets was held in an interest-bearing account, according to Lynch’s order.
Allowing any governmental agency to “profit from the holding of such funds in this circumstances would clearly constitute undue enrichment and is clearly improper,” Lynch wrote.
The Will County state’s attorney’s office said in an email Wednesday the court’s decision will be thoroughly reviewed and the office would evaluate all legal options.”
The state’s attorney’s office also specified that no damages were awarded Wednesday, and said potential damages were limited to tax penalties, interest or negative treatment.
Regnier and Keranen have 45 days to provide proof of damages, the state’s attorney’s office said.
“It’s good that we won, and that we can hold the Secret Service and the state’s attorney’s office liable for what they did,” Regnier said. “Here we have a ruling now that shows what we’ve been saying all along, that not only are we innocent, but they’re wrong, they did things wrong.”
Regnier and Keranen also asked for sanctions to be imposed against the Will County state’s attorney’s office, but Lynch did not grant that request, saying although the office had “represented its interests zealously,” that did not “rise to the level of sanctionable behavior.”
“That’s a little disappointing, because they went out of their way to make our life miserable,” Regnier said.
The couple was first charged with several felonies for fraud and theft of COVID-19 pandemic relief funds in 2023. Federal officials raided their home and businesses that year while investigating them for money laundering.
Regnier and Keranen said the years-long legal saga had been expensive and taxing, and difficult for their children.
“At some point you do have to hold them accountable,” Keranen said. “When it’s wrong it’s wrong, and when it’s right it’s right.”
Under Illinois law, 65% of forfeiture proceeds go to the arresting agency, 12.5% goes to the state’s attorney, 12.5% to the state appellate prosecutor and 10% to Illinois State Police. Andreano said that creates a profit motive for forfeiture cases.
“The money has corrupted the system,” Andreano said. “There’s too much money to be made. They’re making millions of dollars a year off of seizures.”
Keranen and Regnier have requested a special prosecutor to investigate how the case was handled, and a hearing on that request is scheduled for Thursday at the Will County Courthouse.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
