Former Lake County deputy charged with falsifying timesheets to get $4,000 in unearned pay

A former Lake County sheriff's deputy is charged with falsifying more than a dozen timesheets to earn more than $4,000 for overtime hours he did not work, authorities said Wednesday.

Gregory Swanson, 54, of the 17500 block of West Dartmoor Drive near Grayslake, turned himself in Tuesday to face two felony counts of official misconduct.

A judge set Swanson's bail at $100,000, and he posted $10,000 cash to go free while his case is pending.

Lake County sheriff's office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said Wednesday that Swanson's falsified timesheets were discovered during an audit in November 2020.

Charges weren't filed for nearly two years after the initial discovery because the U.S. Department of Transportation was conducting a parallel investigation, Covelli said. Some of the money Swanson received came from federal traffic safety grants, he said.

Investigators reviewed documents from everyone in the office who had worked shifts funded through those grants and found no one else had received money for hours not worked, Covelli said.

Swanson is not facing federal charges.

Swanson, who worked a day shift in the patrol division, resigned from the sheriff's office in December 2020, shortly after learning of the investigation. He had worked 24 years on the force, Covelli said.

Sheriff John D. Idleburg labeled Swanson a "single rogue employee" whose actions do not reflect on the agency as a whole.

"As a profession and as an agency, we hold ourselves to the highest standards," Idleburg said. "Our community, my staff and I will not tolerate this type of dishonest behavior."

Swanson is next due in court on Oct. 18.