Glendale Heights Attorney Sentenced to Six Years for Defrauding Banks

Leonard DeFranco, a 71-year-old former attorney from Glendale Heights, was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding banks out of over $82,000 using his then-girlfriend’s personal identifying information. His fraudulent activities occurred between December 2015 and June 2017, during which he secured four loans without authorization, including one for a $43,500 Audi A8. DeFranco entered a blind plea of guilty to a felony count of identity theft and faced multiple other charges, including forgery and financial institution fraud. The victim discovered the fraud after reviewing her credit report and subsequently alerted law enforcement. The state revealed that DeFranco had stolen a total of $845,831 from multiple victims. He was disbarred effective March 2024 due to his criminal activities.