Chicago Man Arrested in Fraud Scheme Targeting Suburban Downers Grove Firm

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today the arrest of a Chicago man suspected of defrauding his employer of over $275,000 through a false billing scheme.

CHANNA WICK, age 43, of 900 North DeWitt Place in Chicago, was arrested yesterday morning at his residence, without incident, by FBI Special Agents. WICK was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of Wire Fraud, which is a felony offense.

According to the complaint, WICK, who is a naturalized US citizen, was employed by Griffin Solutions, a Downers Grove, Illinois based technical resource, staffing and consulting firm. WICK began his employment with Griffin Solutions in May of 2007, and was originally hired to sell toner products as part of a business expansion plan.

Shortly after starting his employment with Griffin, WICK informed management that he had developed new business opportunities for the firm; developing computer software programs for an east coast based hedge fund. Over the next several months, WICK claimed that he had developed additional firms in need of such service, eventually totaling to as many as six clients. WICK then told his employer that in order to service these new clients in a timely manner, he would need assistance and represented to Griffin Solutions that he had hired graduate students at Chicago area universities to assist with these projects, whom he referred to as “Quants”. 

In furtherance of this scheme, WICK provided his employer with billing information, which caused Griffin Solutions to generate invoices for payment. Further, WICK requested money from Griffin Solutions to pay the Quants, who he hired to assist with these projects. This resulted in the wire transfer of $283,000 from Griffin Solutions to WICK’s bank account over a several month period.

Subsequent investigation by the FBI determined that none of the supposed clients had ever contracted with Griffin Solutions or WICK for any type of work and that the names of the students submitted by WICK as Quants were not enrolled at any Chicago area universities but were in fact, famous Indian cricket players.

WICK appeared yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox in Chicago, at which time he was formally charged. WICK was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance, and is being housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. If convicted of the charge filed against him, WICK faces a possible sentence of up to 20 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.