Lake County Gazette

Alan J. Hanke, 61, of Crystal Lake, has built a reputation few would envy. Federal prosecutors already call him a “serial fraudster.”

His victims range from investors in an $8 million Ponzi scheme to veterans in McHenry who thought they could trust him. This week, his trail of deceit took another turn when a McHenry County judge allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea in a case involving stolen funds from the Sons of the American Legion.

The McHenry Case

Alan J. Hanke, 61, appears in public despite claiming serious health issues to delay sentencing in a federal fraud case. He also faces state charges for allegedly stealing from a veterans’ group. | Michael Scornavacco

Hanke was charged in September 2024 with theft by deception over $10,000, a Class 2 felony, and fraudulent use of a debit card, a Class 4 felony. As commander of the Sons of the American Legion in McHenry, he had access to the group’s debit card, and prosecutors say he used that trust to bleed more than $10,000 from their account.

Between January 2023 and March 2024, court records show Hanke used the card for personal expenses: restaurant tabs, shopping sprees, Amazon orders, and even a Florida boat rental. Veterans’ funds, prosecutors say, became his private slush fund.

In July, Hanke entered a blind guilty plea to the lesser felony charge, while prosecutors dropped the more serious theft count. Sentencing was set for September 26. Last month, however, his new attorney, Albert Wysocki, filed a motion arguing the plea was entered under pressure and misunderstanding. On Tuesday, Judge Tiffany Davis agreed, vacating the plea and sending the case back to trial.

A status hearing is scheduled for November 7, with jury selection planned for January 26.

The Federal Case

The McHenry theft charges are serious enough on their own, but they barely scratch the surface of Hanke’s history. In federal court, he has already admitted to running a massive Ponzi scheme that siphoned more than $8 million from investors.

Between 2018 and 2021, Hanke promised clients sky-high returns on exotic investments such as “standby letters of credit” and “medium-term notes.” Instead, prosecutors say, the money went to cruises, hotels, gambling, a luxury car, and other personal expenses.

He kept the scheme afloat by using money from new investors to pay earlier ones, a textbook Ponzi play. When it began to unravel, he filed bankruptcy, not to face the debt honestly but to bury the damage.

In June 2024, Hanke pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Prosecutors are seeking the maximum five-year sentence, noting that he has failed to repay victims and continued engaging in fraud even after being caught.

Health as a Shield

Hanke’s attorneys now argue his health makes incarceration too severe. Battling stage 4 cancer and relying on a feeding tube, they have asked for leniency and delayed sentencing multiple times on medical grounds.

Those claims do not match what people around Fox Lake have witnessed. Hanke has been spotted throughout the summer at Dinghy’s, eating, drinking, and even working behind the counter. A photo taken August 30, 2025, shows him upright and at work, not bedridden and tethered to a feeding tube as his defense has suggested.

For victims, the contrast is striking: too sick for sentencing but healthy enough to enjoy summer afternoons at a local bar and restaurant.

A Pattern of Betrayal

The pattern is hard to ignore:

Veterans’ money spent on Amazon orders and boat rentals.

Investors’ millions burned on cruises and casinos.

Bankruptcy filings twisted to hide fraud.

Health pleas in court while active in public.

Everywhere Hanke goes, trust is broken and money disappears. Federal prosecutors summed it up clearly: he has not been deterred.

What Comes Next

On October 2, Hanke is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court. Weeks later, he will face a jury in McHenry County over the Legion theft.

The question is not whether Alan Hanke is a fraud. He has already admitted that in federal court. The real question is whether, after years of schemes, stolen money, legal delays, and conflicting stories about his health, his victims will finally see him held accountable.

For far too long, Alan Hanke has stayed one step ahead of justice while everyone else has been left paying the price.

– Michael Scornavacco is the Republican Committeeman for Antioch District 6