A state disciplinary commission said Tazewell County's former public guardian used money he was supposed to be managing for others' benefit for himself.
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission said Matthew Stropes illegally steered more than $30,000 he was managing for three men with disabilities while serving as the county's public guardian between his appointment in 2009 and 2019.
Public guardians manage the personal, financial and legal affairs of the developmentally disabled, persons suffering from mental illness, or elderly people with disabilities who have no one else to advocate on their behalf.
The ARDC said Stropes opened a new account in James Westervelt's name at Herget Bank and illegally withdrew more than $20,000 between 2009 and 2018. The commission alleges he used the money for his own purposes.
After Westervelt died in 2017, an indepenent executor of his estate requested a final accounting and remittance of his remaining assets. That executor later complained that Stropes paid himself guardianship fees without court approval or detailing what services he was providing.
The ADRC alleges Stropes also illegally transferred $6,787 from Lonnie Brandon's account in May 2018 to a separate account opened at Morton Community Bank in Westervelt's name. Brandon's monthly Social Security benefits were deposited in his account.
Stropes also allegedly withdrew $4,500 illegally from the Morton Community Bannk savings account of Peter Mitzo and used the money for his own personal benefit.
Stropes, a Pekin attorney, was served notice of the complaints last month. The ADRC is requesting a hearing board to consider disciplining him for professional misconduct.
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