An Aurora, Ill., businessman was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for fraudulently claiming everything from a flood to lightning damage to his homes and businesses.
According to a Chicago Tribune report, James Karonis, 38, was sentenced by DuPage Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Creswell, the same judge who earlier this year convicted him of almost three dozen felonies, including forgery, insurance fraud, aggravated insurance fraud, arson and organizing a conspiracy to commit aggravated insurance fraud.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Neal Thompson and Pat Weiland said at the trial that Karonis submitted false reports of accidents at several hot dog restaurants he owned in the western suburbs, the newspaper reported. The scams, according to the report, included falsely claiming that lighting struck the businesses and that fire extinguishing systems had gone off by mistake. Damaged equipment, spoiled food and lost business were the reasons for the claims, according to the newspaper.
Lightning strikes at several of Karonis’ homes reportedly caused damage to electronic equipment that Thompson said existed only on forged receipts from appliance stores around the area.
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