Feds launch criminal probe into Rev. Leon Finney Jr.

Federal authorities have launched a wide-ranging criminal investigation of the Rev. Leon Finney Jr. amid allegations from a federal bankruptcy judge that he engaged in fraud, self-dealing and mismanagement while running a nonprofit that managed a quarter of all public housing units in Chicago.

The revelation of the criminal investigation comes less than a week after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Finney had stepped down from the nonprofit Woodlawn Community Development Corporation shortly after the firm filed for bankruptcy in October, pulling the curtains back on its finances.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch sent a grand jury subpoena to the Illinois secretary of state’s office on July 31, seeking records from a range of organizations tied to Finney.

The 17 organizations included Woodlawn and Finney’s landmark church, the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church at 4100 S. King Drive. The federal grand jury, convened in May, was looking for the records “pursuant to an official criminal investigation” led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A spokesman for Finney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The existence of a criminal investigation was first reported by WBEZ.

On Feb. 20, Judge Carol A. Doyle said she was “basically obligated” to alert federal prosecutors to contradicting statements Finney made about unpaid payroll taxes, noting that she was “appalled” by his conduct. It’s unclear whether Doyle ever made that referral.

Finney faces further scrutiny in the form of a review ordered Monday by Mayor Lori Lightfoot into his “significant portfolio” of public housing. Molly Sullivan, a Chicago Housing Authority spokeswoman, couldn’t provide additional information about the scope of the review Wednesday.

“We are looking and making sure that everything there was compliant with our ethics ordinance to make sure that it’s compliant with all the relevant laws,” Lightfoot said Monday.