Adam
Lopez, former Springfield School Board member who’s been jailed since November
on suspicion of stealing from people who entrusted him with money to invest, is
in trouble again.
Lopez was indicted today on two counts of theft. He is scheduled for arraignment on Friday. Multiple
sources tell Illinois Times that Lopez is suspected of convincing a fellow inmate to provide him with $2,500 and promising the inmate that he’d double his money so that the inmate could make bond and be freed.
That
could not be immediately verified by authorities. Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright said Lopez faces a sentence as long as five years in the matter, which will be handled separately from charges filed last year alleging that Lopez stole more than $1 million.
Lopez in November was charged with swindling clients while he
worked as a financial agent for Country Financial, which fired him last fall
after receiving complaints. Prosecutors say victims included senior citizens. He last year was charged
with two counts of theft, three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly
and one count of financial exploitation of a person with disabilities. He has
pleaded not guilty. Daniel Noll, Lopez’ lawyer, could not be reached.
Lopez
is incarcerated pending trial on charges filed last year with a $1.5 million
bond. If convicted, he faces a prison term as long as 30 years.
Contact
Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Aug 8-14, 2019.
