Former HSI special agent from Naperville sentenced to six years in federal prison

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Logo. Former HSI Special Agent from Naperville sentenced to six years in federal prison.
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A former Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent from Naperville has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for tax, structuring, and concealment offenses. 

Naperville man gets 74-month sentence, must pay restitution

In May, Anthony Sabaini, 41, was convicted by a jury for “illegally structuring financial transactions, concealing material facts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and filing false federal tax returns,” according to a news release from the U.S Attorney’s Office. 

U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood handed down a 74-month sentence to Sabaini. She also ordered him to pay $93,422 in restitution to the IRS.

Corrupt relationship with HSI informant

Evidence showed that Sabaini had a corrupt relationship with an HSI confidential informant. He would tip them off to investigations that were underway by law enforcement agencies like the FBI and DEA. The informant would then pay Sabaini for protection, reportedly in the sum of at least $50,000.

It was shown that Sabaini lied on official HSI memoranda in both 2017 and 2018, to conceal this corrupt relationship.

Prosecutors said that Sabaini was also stealing cash from drug dealers. He also took money from the HSI which had been meant to be used for official investigations.

“Corrupt law enforcement strikes at the heart of our system of government,” argued Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Jonathan Shih in the prosecution’s sentencing memorandum. “When individuals in law enforcement break the law, it makes the job of legitimate law enforcement that much harder because it erodes public trust.”

Illegal financial transactions

Sabaini had a bank account in which he deposited more than $250,000, which he built up over a period of 160 individual deposits of under $10,000. This strategy, prosecutors said, was to help him evade federal reporting rules.

He also falsified his federal tax returns from 2014 to 2018, underreporting his income.

Partner gets three month sentence

Sabaini’s partner, Fernando Zambrano, was convicted in 2021 for lying to investigators in regards to an inquiry on the Sabaini case. He had been working as a Palos Heights police officer, and was assigned to an HIS task force. A judge sentenced him to three months in federal prison.

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Photo Courtesy: Homeland Security Investigations