Woman admits to bilking Orland man out of more than $1.6 million

From staff reports

A woman has admitted in federal court that she used a series of threats and intimidation to bilk an elderly Orland Park victim out of more than $1.6 million.

Lee Turner, also known as “Ashley Turner,” 40, of Joliet, pleaded guilty on May 16 to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce to promote and carry on unlawful activity, namely theft and intimidation. The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah set sentencing for Sept. 8.

Turner admitted in a plea agreement that from 2018 to 2021 she communicated numerous threats and fraudulent statements to the victim, who was in his 70s and had limited vision. Turner’s communications threatened to expose the victim’s purported criminal activity, even though Turner had no knowledge of any such activity committed by the victim. Turner took on false personas to convey false statements purportedly from others, including alleged gang members, individuals involved in organized crime, prosecutors, journalists, and corrupt law enforcement officers.

In one example cited in the plea agreement, Turner, using the alias “Big Joe,” sent a series of messages to the victim, claiming that the victim had to pay $30,000 to prevent law enforcement from raiding the victim’s residence and a relative’s residence. On June 13, 2019, the victim paid Turner $30,000 to avoid the purported raids, the plea agreement states. The money was one of dozens of similar payments, ranging in value from $5,000 to $66,000, that the victim made to Turner. In all, Turner received $1,611,975 from the victim as a result of the scam, the plea agreement states.

The guilty plea was announced by Orland Park Police Chief Eric Rossi, Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI.