Former security guard charged with city ticket, fine scam

A former contracted security guard for various city offices has been charged with scamming people who needed to pay tickets and fines out of their money, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Christopher C. Williams, 28, faces one count each of theft of government property between $10,000 and $100,000; theft of property between $10,000 and $100,000; theft by deception between $500 and $10,000; theft by unauthorized use between $500 and $100,000 and four counts of wire fraud, all felonies, according to the Illinois attorney general’s office.

While working as a contracted security guard at different Chicago Department of Revenue offices between September and October 2013, Williams is accused of telling people that he would help them pay their city tickets and fines then stealing the money, prosecutors said.

Williams advertised himself as a “ticket fixer” on social media or would approach individuals waiting in line at a Department of Revenue payment center saying that he could pay the fines for a lower amount or that he could expedite the process, prosecutors said.

He would “pay” the ticket or fine at a kiosk in the lobby using a check that drew funds from a Chicago Department of Family and Support Services account, prosecutors said. The machine would print a receipt that said the tickets and fines were paid, which Williams provided as proof to individuals while he kept the cash they gave him.

The schemes drained more than $40,000 from the DFSS account, prosecutors said.

Williams, of Chicago, was ordered held on a $40,000 bond Wednesday and is next scheduled to appear in court July 20, prosecutors said. The charges could amount to $25,000 in fines or up to 15 years in prison.