 Danny Walker
The charges stemmed from a checking account that was opened at TCF Bank in Naperville, Illinois where Walker’s girlfriend worked. The indictment accused them of conspiracy and fraud for opening an account in the name of Silverio Bacilio with a check made out to Bacilio for $3,500. Immediately thereafter, $500 was withdrawn from the account.
Walker later said that at the time, he was working as a day laborer. His girlfriend said she needed people to sign up for new accounts to meet a quota imposed by the bank. Walker suggested they solicit people who worked as day laborers through Labor Ready in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where Walker worked.
Walker later said that because he was bilingual, he translated for her while she opened the account for Bacilio. Subsequently, however, she became concerned about whether Walker’s involvement was improper and spoke to bank officials.
As a consequence, she lost her job and more than a year later, police arrested them in December 2010 charging them with bank fraud and conspiracy
Walker’s girlfriend pled guilty to fraud and was sentenced to probation. Upon successful completion of her probationary period, the case was expunged.
Walker subsequently obtained sworn affidavits from Bacilio asserting police coerced him to falsely claim he was unaware that an account had been opened in his name. Walker said Bacilio claimed he was threatened with deportation (and, according to Walker, ultimately was deported to Mexico).
On June 12, 2012, a grand jury indicted Walker on new charges of bank fraud and conspiracy based on a newly-enacted bank fraud statute and the original charges were dismissed. On June 14, a jury was selected to hear the evidence in DuPage County Circuit Court. However, before any testimony was presented, Walker agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud. He was sentenced to six months in jail, 30 months of probation, and ordered to make restitution of $3,500.
In January 2015, Walker, acting as his own attorney, filed a motion arguing that his guilty plea was invalid because the statute that he pled guilty to was not in effect at the time of the crime. On January 28, 2015, the judge agreed to reduce Walker’s conviction to a misdemeanor and reduced the amount of restitution to $500.
On February 25, 2015, during a subsequent hearing on a motion to reconsider Walker’s plea, the prosecution agreed that the conviction should be vacated. The judge then dismissed the charge.
On February 21, 2017, Walker, acting without a lawyer, filed a petition for a certificate of innocence. On July 3, 2017, the petition was granted and his case records were expunged.
Less than a month later, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a notice that it would appeal the granting of the certificate.
Walker then filed a claim for compensation with the state of Illinois. On December 15, 2017, the Illinois Court of Claims awarded Walker $5,000.
On February 21, 2018, the prosecution dismissed the appeal.
– Maurice Possley and Emily Hoerner
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