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Convicted lawyer's victimhood claim is 'absolutely…

Criminal Justice Convicted lawyer's victimhood claim is 'absolutely delusional,' judge says at sentencing hearing

By Debra Cassens Weiss

August 14, 2024, 10:30 am CDT

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A Chicago lawyer sentenced to prison for bank embezzlement Tuesday interrupted the judge throughout the proceeding and claimed that the case against him “is an evil that’s going on here.” (Image from Shutterstock)

A Chicago lawyer sentenced to prison for bank embezzlement Tuesday interrupted the judge throughout the proceeding and claimed that the case against him “is an evil that’s going on here.”

Law360 had coverage of the hearing.

“Through several interruptions and outbursts from Robert Kowalski,” the Law360 article reports, “U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said the defendant should serve a 300-month sentence because he committed a serious crime, and his false records, lies, denials, yelling, screaming and repeated assertions of violated rights show he has no respect for the rule of law.”

Kendall, the chief judge of the Northern District of Illinois, told Kowalski that he is “absolutely incapable of looking at the reality of the situation and your role in it,” and he has “no respect for the integrity of any court” that he has appeared before.

Kowalski was charged after the December 2017 collapse of the Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, the prosecution featured “bizarre pretrial hearings” and dozens of motions in which Kowalski alleged that investigators were hiding evidence and colluding with the judge.

Kowalski was convicted in March 2023 on charges of embezzlement, bankruptcy fraud and tax fraud, according to a Department of Justice press release.

Prosecutors alleged that Kowalski, a close associate of John Gembara, a former president of the Washington Federal Bank for Savings, diverted more than $8 million from the bank in payments that were falsely recorded as loans. Kowalski was also accused of falsifying bank records to shift real estate interests into his name.

After the bank collapsed, Kowalski filed for bankruptcy and tried to hide assets to avoid losing them in an action by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., prosecutors alleged. Kowalski was also accused of filing false tax returns in a bid to substantiate his financial claims in the bankruptcy.

In addition to a 25-year prison term, Kendall required Kowalski to pay more than $7.2 million in restitution to the FDIC and more than $400,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

During the hearing Tuesday, Kowalski claimed that bank employees signed his name on bank papers and used his identity without his knowledge, according to Law360. He characterized himself as “Bob the Builder” trying to repair properties to help the bank earn money.

Kendall rejected the assertions, Law360 reported.

“You are absolutely delusional that you are a victim in this case,” she said. “The only thing that you have built here is a facade to hide your liability.”

Gembara was found dead in December 2017 in the suburban home of the bank’s handyman, a Washington Federal Bank for Savings customer who was later convicted of embezzlement, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Gembara’s death was ruled a suicide, the Chicago Tribune reports.

See also:

Lawyer sentenced for hiding brother’s bankruptcy assets in attorney trust account

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