Chicago secretary accused of bilking boss out of $900,000

A legal secretary for a Chicago law firm has been charged with paying herself almost $900,000, using checks drawn against her boss’s money market account. She allegedly made the checks payable to her and then signed them using the attorney’s signature stamp.

The criminal charges identify the lawyer only as Individual A, but according to a report on www.Law.com, a civil lawsuit filed at the same time under identical circumstances lists attorney Bruce Sperling as the plaintiff and his secretary, Crystal Sangiacomo, as the defendant.

According to the FBI, Sangiacomo admitted she wrote the checks to avoid foreclosure on her home. The fraudulent activity was discovered when Sangiacomo called in sick and another secretary performed her job.