Near North’s Segal Requests Speedy Trial

Near North CEO Michael Segal has requested a quick trial on the one count of insurance fraud he faces, in the wake of reports that prosecutors intend to bring more complex charges against him, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Returned last week, the one-count indictment alleges the former Near North Insurance CEO misled Illinois regulators when he claimed insurance premiums were correctly maintained in a required trust fund. Filed when he was arrested last month, the detailed criminal complaint alleges Segal misappropriated millions of dollars in insurance premiums in the trust fund.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Kendal noted prosecutors needed extra time to go through the 6,000 boxes of financial records seized from Segal’s business in Chicago.

Segal’s lawyer, Harvey Silets, is seeking a trial at the earliest date possible, maintaining that if prosecutors had the evidence to acquire an indictment from a grand jury, they should be set to go to trial.

Segal is not the only person with ties to Near North making news.

Three former Near North executives cooperating in the federal probe of Segal have alleged that a lawsuit filed against them in Cook County Circuit Court is a move made to both intimidate and harass them.

Lawyers for Near North are alleging that the three individuals are trying to extort money and are providing false information on Segal’s actions.

An attorney for the executives, however, notes that the three tried to persuade Segal to put a stop to his alleged criminal conduct last summer. The attorney added the three plan to countersue the company for unpaid bonuses for work they delivered to the firm.