A top police officer and ally of controversial Dolton, Illinois, Mayor Tiffany Henyard was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on bankruptcy fraud charges.
Lewis A. Lacey, 61, the former deputy chief of police of Dolton, Illinois, is accused of concealing assets and income to avoid paying creditors and settling a lawsuit, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois. The nine-count indictment charges Lacey with bankruptcy fraud, making false statements in a bankruptcy case and perjury.
Lacey has been an outspoken supporter of the embattled Henyard, who has been dogged in scandal for months after being accused of misdeeds ranging from weaponizing police raids to spending taxpayer money on luxuries in Las Vegas.
According to the indictment, Lacey filed a 2019 bankruptcy petition shortly after a plaintiff moved to enforce a settlement agreement, accusing Lacey of still owing $43,000 of the $55,000 settlement. He also filed a bankruptcy petition in 2020.
He made several false and fraudulent representations in oral statements and documents submitted in the bankruptcy cases, including underreporting his monthly income and concealing bank accounts that he controlled, the indictment states. Among other things, Lacey falsely represented that he was separated from his spouse and that she did not reside with him or contribute to his monthly income and mortgage.
The false representations allowed Lacey to fraudulently calculate his monthly income for purposes of repayment of his creditors as substantially less than it should have been if his spouse’s contributions were included, the indictment states. The indictment is part of an ongoing federal investigation.
During the charged fraud scheme, Lacey served as a police officer with the Dolton Police Department. He was fired last week as the town’s deputy police chief to save costs during a contentious village board meeting involving Henyard, Fox 32 Chicago reports.
Lacey’s lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, told the New York Post that the indictment is part of a “bigger plan by the government to try to indict the mayor of Dolton.”
Pissetzky told the outlet that his client was innocent of the charges and that the feds only wanted to use Lacey to help build up a criminal case against Henyard. Lacey faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.
“They’re going after certain people in the village to see who’s gonna turn on the mayor,” Pissetzky said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Henyard’s office but did not immediately receive a response.
Last week’s meeting featured a presentation by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot about her investigation into Dolton’s “dire” financial situation. The Village of Dolton hired Lightfoot as a “special investigator” to look into Henyard’s alleged misdeeds.
Lightfoot stated that in April 2022, Dolton’s general fund balance was $5.61 million, but by May 2024, the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.
Lightfoot also disclosed that Henyard used the village credit card to make purchases at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Wayfair and other retailers.
One jaw-dropping statement revealed that the embattled mayor had dropped $33,000 on Jan. 5, 2023 on Amazon.
“These are somebody using the credit card and charging these amounts using your tax dollars,” Lightfoot told residents.
Lightfoot said that the preliminary investigation also revealed that two police officers had received overtime pay exceeding their annual salaries.
One officer’s salary for fiscal year 2024 was $87,295, yet the officer received $114,800 in overtime pay. The second officer, with a salary of $73,515, received $102,077 in overtime pay for fiscal year 2024.
The reports have been a pressure point for the city, which has a population of slightly more than 20,000, according to a July 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The accusations of financial misdeeds have prompted an ongoing FBI investigation.
Henyard, who typically speaks into a golden microphone at meetings, has also come under fire for an alleged sexual assault by one of her allies during a Las Vegas trip, where the alleged victim claims to have been fired after speaking out. Henyard’s cancer charity is also facing scrutiny.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Henyard has been living like a royal with a combined salary of nearly $300,000 — more than the state’s governor — despite the 23,000 residents of the Illinois town having a median income of $24,000.
In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Henyard after six people had reportedly spoken to the agency about her alleged misconduct, including “business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials.”
In April, the FBI served two federal subpoenas as part of an investigation. Henyard was not served.
The first one was for employment records, personnel files and disciplinary reports for 25 Dolton employees, including three police officers and Keith Freeman, who is the village administrator and Henyard’s top aide. Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud.
The second subpoena was served specifically on Freeman, asking for records of all companies associated with him and possible ties to the village.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
