A former University of Illinois at Chicago employee is accused of pocketing more than $200,000 to steer elevator repair work to a southwest suburban firm, according to federal court documents.
Under an arrangement that ran from April 2013 to August 2015, James Hernandez, at the time an elevator foreman at UIC, took money from Suzy Tamras-Martin, owner of Willowbrook-based Smart Elevators Co., the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern District of Illinois said Wednesday. UIC paid Smart Elevators more than $5 million for servicing and repairs between 2011 and 2015.
Federal officials say Tamras-Martin, who lives in Naperville, tried to cover up the payments by issuing checks to Hernandez’s daughter. Those checks were listed as “professional fees” in the company’s records. Hernandez would forge his daughter’s signature on the back of the checks to deposit them in a bank account he controlled, according to the documents.
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Federal prosecutors allege Tamras-Martin made the payments to influence Hernandez in his work capacity at UIC, which included referring the school’s elevator service and repair work.
The seven-count indictment charges Hernandez and Tamras-Martin with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, and three counts apiece of federal program bribery. The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, and federal program bribery carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Hernandez was arrested Wednesday morning. He pleaded not guilty at an afternoon arraignment before U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang and was ordered released on a recognizance bond. An arraignment date for Tamras-Martin has not yet been scheduled.
UIC said Hernandez has not worked for the university since March 2016.
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