Pamela Williams, 57, of Darien, Illinois, and Patricia Johnson, 56, Naperville, Illinois have both been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing millions out of the escrow accounts of their suburban Chicago area title agency.
The crimes took place at PLM Title Company, a company which Williams owned and in which Johnson was a silent partner. Williams and Johnson failed to pay off mortgages for dozens of customers, diverting the payoff money to themselves for personal use or to pay business expenses.
Prosecutors estimated that Williams and Johnson drained up to $6 million dollars from the escrow accounts at PLM from 2002 to 2008. An audit showed that about $3 million was illicitly transferred from PLM Title's escrow accounts to other accounts.
Williams and Johnson were able to hide their crimes for a number of
years because they did a sufficient amount of business to maintain a
positive balance in their escrow accounts, which allowed them to pay off
old escrow obligations with money entrusted to them for new
transactions.
But the Ponzi-like scheme fell apart when real estate transaction volume dried up in the housing meltdown, and Williams closed down the business in early 2008, failing to meet numerous escrow obligations in the process.
Authorities were alerted to the duo's alleged criminal activities when they were contacted by a lawyer of one of the victims. They were indicted last October and were arrested and charged with multiple felonies relating to the massive theft.
At first, it appeared that the case would go to trial. But only moments before the beginning of their joint trial in April, Williams and Johnson pled guilty to ten felony theft counts apiece.
Williams and Johnson claimed that they only used the stolen money to keep their company afloat, not to enrich themselves. But neither that nor the guilty pleas spared the women from the stiff sentences handed down this week by judge John Kinsella. “I would consider a life sentence if that would make [this situation] better,” the judge told Williams and Johnson at their sentencing.
Williams and Johnson left behind dozens of victims, several of whom testified at the sentencing. According to local news reports, victims typically found out that there was a problem when they would receive a call from their old mortgage company, informing them that the payoff check at their recent closing had bounced. Foreclosure actions and ruined credit would then typically follow.
Victims testified that they were still plagued by the financial mess left behind. One devastated victim who testified was a disabled veteran who had used money from a PLM transaction to make his home wheelchair accessible. PLM failed to use his escrow money to pay off his mortgage. The veteran says that he now has no savings and his credit is destroyed.