Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Cook County woman was found guilty of stealing more than $100,000 from her late mother’s Chicago Teachers Pension Fund. 

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Alfredo Maldonado found Atara Young, 55, of Chicago, guilty of one count of misappropriation of financial institution property, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and one count of forgery, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Following the verdict, she was taken into custody at the Cook County Jail, where she will remain until a future sentencing hearing. Young’s next court date is April 27. 

“It is disappointing that an immediate family member would take advantage of a family member’s death to gain access to their loved one’s hard-earned pension,” Raoul said. “I will continue to hold those who commit these crimes accountable for lining their own pockets using stolen funds.” 

The Attorney General’s office prosecuted this case based on a referral from the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund. 

Attorney General Raoul’s office determined the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund was not notified Shirleen Williams’ death in September 2008. As a result, monthly pension checks continued to be deposited in Williams’ account to which her daughter, Atara Young, had sole access. Raoul’s office also determined that multiple times between October 2008 and July 2018, Young used Williams’ credit card and then used Williams’ bank account to pay the credit card invoices. 

Additionally, between 2014 and 2016, Young wrote personal checks to herself using Williams’ account, even signing the checks as Williams. Since Williams’ death, the pension fund deposited more than $100,000 into Williams’ account, which had all been spent as of July 2018. 

Assistant Attorney General Samantha Cain prosecuted the case for Raoul’s Special Prosecutions