By Joe Ragusa
CHICAGO – McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of fraud.
Sorensen is named in an indictment filed in federal court in Chicago that accuses him and co-defendant Navdeep Arora of filing fraudulent invoices to several clients, including State Farm in Bloomington, charging them over $890,000 in unearned consulting fees.
Arora worked with an outside consulting firm, McKinsey and Co., while Sorensen worked as internal consultant for State Farm. The indictment accuses Sorensen of keeping at least $400,000 in consulting fees after the two created a couple shell companies called “Gabriel Solutions” and “Andy’s BCB.”
Attempts to contact Sorensen have been unsuccessful. He faces five counts of wire fraud and each count carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be arraigned Jan. 11 in Chicago.
State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said the company first brought the issue to federal investigators in April 2012 and the company has not had a contractual relationship with McKinsey since June 2012.
Supple said Sorensen has not worked for State Farm for over three years and he cannot comment on personnel matters.
McLean County Administrator Bill Wasson said the crimes Sorensen is accused of don’t appear to involve the county board and administrators are reviewing the issue with legal counsel before commenting further regarding Sorensen’s status on the board.
The indictment can be found here.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].
