Former Cook County assessors office employee pleads guilty in bribery scheme

Maria Gonzalez, a former employee in the Cook County assessor’s office, has pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one count of misconduct for taking more than $9,000 in kickbacks from property owners in exchange for helping them get fraudulent property tax refunds, according to the Daily Herald.

The Daily Herald explained that as part of her guilty plea, Gonzalez will receive two years’ probation and have to pay $719 in fines and $40,000 in restitution.

Gonzalez was able to run her scheme thanks to her position as a tax information specialist, a position she’d worked since 2001. Gonzalez’s job was to make sure homeowners who requested refunds through homeowner exemption certificate of error applications had actually overpayed and were entitled to refunds.

Prosecutors have pointed to four instances from April 2010 to February 2011 when Gonzalez received money in exchange for helping property owners get refunds for which they were not eligible, according to the Herald.

Read more: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/former-cook-county-assessors-office-employee-pleads-guilty-in-bribery-scheme/