Two Men Arrested For Stealing Checks From Obama Campaign Offices

By Maya Shwayder | September 22 2012 11:03 AM

Two checks totaling more than $50,000 were taken from the building housing the national campaign headquarters to re-elect U.S. President Barack Obama in Chicago last week. On Saturday, Chicago police announced they had made two arrests in connection with the burglary, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Reuters

Campaign staff in President Barack Obama’s new campaign headquarters in Chicago on May 12, 2011. In September, two checks were stolen from the same building.

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Willard Elam, 48, and Jessie Adams, 36, were arrested on Friday and Saturday, respectively. A third person remains at large. Police told the Tribune that Adams recruited Elam and the third suspect, and he provided fake documents to open bank accounts in the names of the businesses to which the checks were written.

The checks were taken from the building in Prudential Plaza, which is located near the city’s Lake Michigan waterfront, where Obama’s national campaign headquarters is housed. On Sept. 12 and 13, the Tribune reported, Elam and the unknown third person set up accounts and deposited checks, each worth approximately $25,000, at TCF Banks in the area.

“Three checks we sent to vendors made it into the wrong hands, and after learning of this, we notified the police,” Ben Finkenbinder, the Midwest press secretary for the Obama campaign, told the Tribune. "We're pleased that they're dealing with the issue swiftly, and we don't expect this to have any impact upon the campaign."

Adams has been charged with one count of being the organizer of a financial criminal enterprise. Elam is charged with one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise, police and the state attorney’s office told the Tribune. Both will appear in bond court on Saturday.