Elk Grove Village Man Charged in Bank Embezzlement Scheme

A suburban Chicago man employed as an escrow administrator with the Chicago Title and Trust Company (CTTC) was arrested earlier this week after being charged with embezzling $50,000 from an escrow account of the Signature Bank, held by the CTTC.

ELVIR SINIKOVIC, age 33, of 720 Wellington Avenue in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, was arrested at his residence early Wednesday morning, without incident, by special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Special agents from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General (HUD/OIG) and the Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assisted in the arrest. The arrest was announced today by Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI.

SINIKOVIC was charged in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of embezzlement of bank funds, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, SINIKOVIC authorized a wire transfer of $50,000 from the escrow account of CT&T Construction to an account of a third party held at the Chase Bank. The funds transfer was made for work performed on a construction project. However, subsequent investigation determined that the holder of this account had not performed any work in connection with the construction project and was not entitled to any funds. Further, the account holder admitted that he was instructed by SINIKOVIC to convert $40,000 of the transferred funds to a cashier’s check, which was allegedly used by SINIKOVIC’s wife to purchase commercial real estate from CT&T Construction, while the remaining $10,000 was allegedly given to SINIKOVIC in cash.

Though not charged with any additional violations, SINIKOVIC is suspected of having made in excess of 100 similar unauthorized disbursements, totaling in excess of $1.5 million, from construction escrow accounts held at CTTC, through checks and wire transfers.

SINIKOVIC appeared before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert in Chicago, late Wednesday, at which time he was formally charged. SINIKOVIC was ordered held without bond, pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled for later today. If convicted of the charge filed against him, SINKOVIC faces a possible sentence of up to 30 years’ incarceration.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the criminal complaint filed in this case is available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.