Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced charges against a Vienna, Illinois man for allegedly defrauding Johnson, Hardin, and Pope counties out of over $100,000 between 2017 and 2023 while employed as a Johnson County 911 operator.
The Attorney General’s office charged Justin Vaughn, 41, with two counts of theft of government property of over $100,000, Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison; one count of money laundering, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; two counts of forgery and four counts of official misconduct, which are all Class 3 felonies punishable by up to five years in prison; and four counts of income tax fraud, Class 4 felonies punishable by up to three years in prison. Vaughn’s next court date is Oct. 28.
All sentences are ultimately determined by the court.
“Public servants must be held to a higher standard, and my office is working diligently to ensure that we work with law enforcement partners across jurisdictions to pursue allegations of fraud and official misconduct,” Raoul said. “Collaborations between my office and state and local law enforcement and government agencies are critical to identifying fraud and misconduct and holding individuals accountable when they abuse their positions for personal benefit.”
This case was referred to the Attorney General’s office by the Johnson County State’s Attorney’s office. Attorney General Raoul’s office collaborated with the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) and the Illinois State Police (ISP) on the investigation.
“While this type of crime may not be violent, it most certainly is not victimless, depriving governmental bodies of critical revenue and eroding public trust,” said IDOR Director David Harris. “We greatly appreciate the cooperative efforts of the Attorney General’s Office, the Illinois State Police and IDOR’S Bureau of Criminal Investigations on this case.”
“During our investigation, the ISP Special Investigations Unit found evidence of a public official trying to defraud the county out of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP’s Special Investigative Unit will continue to work with the Attorney General’s Office to investigate cases of money laundering and official misconduct.”
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This case is ongoing, and additional information will be made available at a later date.
Assistant Attorney General Haley Bookhout is prosecuting the case for Raoul’s Public Integrity Bureau.