A former Plainfield city manager has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1.4 million

A former elected Plainfield Township executive pleaded guilty Monday to stealing nearly $1.4 million over six years from a private firm where he served as chief financial officer.

Anthony Fremarek, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud during a telephone hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman.

Fremarek resigned three months after being indicted in January 2021. He faces up to four years and three months in prison under the U.S. Attorney’s recommendations, while his attorney, Vincent Pinelli, said he plans to argue that the recommendations are actually substantially lower.

Gettleman scheduled an in-person sentencing hearing for Feb. 23.

Prosecutors accused Fremarek of stealing about $1.38 million from Company A, a private consulting firm based in Schaumburg, between 2013 and 2019, using company funds to make unauthorized personal credit card payments.

The company was not named in court records, but Fremorek’s biography on Plainfield Township’s website and his LinkedIn page indicated he served as chief financial officer at PSC Group LLC, a Schaumburg-based company that provides technology consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses. business. enterprises.

Afternoon briefing

Every day

Top articles from Chicago Tribune editors delivered to your inbox every day.

According to the plea agreement, as CFO of Company A, Fremarek tried to cover up the fraud by making false entries in the company’s accounting system to make it look like the payments were going to legitimate suppliers.

He also submitted false documents to banks where Company A had accounts that “falsely inflated Company A’s liquidity” so he could continue the scheme undetected, according to the charges.

Fremarek, a Republican, was elected to the township council in April 2009 and was elected supervisor four years later. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois.

In a statement on his 2020 campaign website, Fremarek touted his financial prowess, saying he was proud the township was firmly “in the black.”

“I have presided over a council that believes that running a township is no different than running our homes,” he wrote. “Simply put, you can only spend what you earn.”

During Monday’s hearing, Fremarek told the judge he had most recently worked as a “small business CFO,” but did not elaborate.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com