Statement on Counterclaim Filing by the Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday seeking injunctive relief and damages from participants of a wide-ranging racketeering scheme designed to profit from more than a dozen fraudulent claims of priest sexual abuse.
The civil filing in Circuit Court of Cook County exposes a racketeering enterprise among a web of connected individuals — some of whom are convicted felons and known gang members — who took advantage of the archdiocese’s pastoral response to compensate real victims of priest sexual abuse. The materials include more than two dozen individuals who filed claims, recruited false claimants and coached them on how to describe fake allegations of abuse involving former priest Daniel McCormack.
“We trust and believe people when they come forward with abuse claims. These individuals have violated that trust and have attempted to take advantage of it,” said James Geoly, General Counsel for the archdiocese. “We have a duty to oppose claims we know are false to protect and stand up for real survivors of abuse who ultimately are the ones harmed by fraud.”
One of the individuals is a convicted murderer currently serving time in prison. This felon’s false abuse claim was conveyed to the archdiocese in 2019. Months later, he told a friend over a recorded prison phone line that a family member “put [him] on the lick,” a term used to describe a scam or scheme to get money.
The defendant conspirators are associated by gang affiliation, friendship or family. They counseled one another on what to say, how to pursue a false claim, how to embellish purported injuries and how to reach attorneys. In some cases, the co-conspirators exchanged money before achieving a settlement, enabled by litigation-funding loans.
In recorded calls from prison — participants on Illinois prison calls are warned that they are being recorded — co-conspirators discuss “free money” and how “easy” it is to bring a claim. One past claimant admits he was not involved with McCormack’s church or programs, “didn’t go there … I wasn’t even in a program, and, you feel me, I got a lick on ’em.”
The Circuit Court of Cook County has already ruled that two other cases were fraudulent, and several others have been abandoned by the claimants and their lawyers. The filing reflects the breadth of the fraud and seeks to expose the conspiracy that has become a criminal enterprise for those involved. All co-conspirators are referred in the filing as John Does, to comply with various court orders.
The archdiocese is committed to transparency regarding all allegations of misconduct. The archdiocese reports every allegation of clergy sexual abuse of a minor to law enforcement and removes priests from ministry pending investigation. Victims are connected to support and social services, including therapy at the archdiocese’s expense. Further, an independent review board reviews abuse allegations and makes recommendations to the Cardinal about the potential risk to children and the accused priest’s fitness for ministry. If an allegation is substantiated in accordance with church law, the offender is permanently removed from ministry and added to the archdiocese’s public list of offenders.
“While we cannot erase the past, including the misconduct of priests who committed real harms, we can try to ease the pain and suffering of survivors through accountability and support. False claims make it necessary to investigate all claims more aggressively, which places a greater burden on true survivors. Our attention is directed toward survivors, not fraudsters seeking to gain financially from others’ pain and suffering,” Geoly said.
Source: https://www.archchicago.org/en/statement/-/article/2025/03/25/statement-on-counterclaim-filing-by-the-archdiocese-of-chicago
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