Jan. 08--A woman who allegedly stole more than $1 million from the Naperville law firm where she worked pleaded guilty Friday to theft charges, authorities said.
Le Anna Kelty, 55, formerly of Wilmington, entered a blind plea of guilty to an amended charge of theft of more than $500,000, a Class 1 felony that makes her ineligible for probation, DuPage County prosecutors said.
She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 16 and faces a four- to 15-year prison term.
Kelty already has served a prison sentence on a Will County embezzlement conviction in which she pleaded guilty to stealing money from a flooring company where she worked. When she completed that sentence in late December, she was brought to the DuPage County jail to await trial on the theft charges involving the law firm.
A grand jury indicted her in December 2014. Prosecutors alleged she stole more than $1 million over a six-year period while she worked in the accounting department of the law firm of Freedman, Anselmo, Lindberg and Rappe.
Prosecutors said Kelty created a dummy corporation and then wrote checks from the law firm to the corporation. She used the money to buy a $40,000 boat, a $55,000 pickup truck and a $24,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, authorities alleged in court documents. The items were later seized in a forfeiture proceeding.
The law firm discovered the financial irregularity in 2014 and contacted police. Kelty had resigned the previous year. After leaving the law firm, she took a job at the flooring company and was later sentenced to prison after she was convicted of embezzling almost $100,000.
"After years of stealing from a trusting employer, Le Anna Kelty's deceit and greed finally caught up with her," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Six years and more than $500,000 later, Ms. Kelty is now looking at a significant amount of time behind bars."
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
