Raw Record Source

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  "path": "/crime/2026/06/23/broadview-six-boutros-mecklenburg-loretto-hospital",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-23T23:37:34.039Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>The federal prosecutor whose<b> </b>nearly two decades of work in Chicago is <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/22/broadview-six-damage-spreads-boutros-drops-more-charges-details-ongoing-review\" target=\"_blank\" >going under a microscope</a> tackled<b> </b>one of the city’s top<b> </b>fraud<b> </b>investigations<b> </b>before<b> </b>the “Broadview Six” case led to multiple claims<b> </b>that she’d acted improperly while seeking indictments from grand jurors.</p><p>But defense attorneys who exposed the alleged wrongdoing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri<b> </b>Mecklenburg say the need for accountability in U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office<b> </b>goes beyond one person.</p><p>In fact, they<b> </b>asked a judge<b> </b>last week<b> </b>to <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/06/17/broadview-6-want-special-counsel-to-probe-boutros-office-trumps-justice-department-for-criminal-contempt\" target=\"_blank\" >appoint<b> </b>a special counsel</a><b> </b>who would investigate Boutros and others for criminal contempt, in part “because of what appears to be a determined effort to blame a single prosecutor.”</p><p>Now, Boutros<b> </b>has announced plans to review<b> </b>Mecklenburg’s<b> </b>work<b> </b>before grand jurors<b> </b>dating all the way back to 2007, a process he said would “likely lead to the review of grand jury minutes in more than 100 grand jury cases.”</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/22/broadview-six-damage-spreads-boutros-drops-more-charges-details-ongoing-review\" >‘Broadview Six’ damage spreads with review of 20 years of one prosecutor’s cases</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Mecklenburg’s most significant prosecutions are aimed at former<b> </b>Loretto<b> </b>Hospital<b> </b>chief financial officer Anosh<b> </b>Ahmed. But she’s also helped secure prison sentences<b> </b>for fraudsters accused of swindling hefty sums out of private business and charity.</p><p>No change in her employment status has been announced since the scandal broke last month. A Boutros spokesman referred questions to Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C., who did not respond to a message from the Chicago Sun-Times.</p><p>Sergio<b> </b>Acosta, Mecklenburg’s attorney, declined to comment.</p><p>Boutros made his announcement Monday<b> </b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/18/boutros-holleb-hotaling-atf-country-club-hills\" target=\"_blank\" >after a series of revelations</a> led judges to ask whether they can still rely on information coming from Boutros’ office under a legal doctrine known as the “presumption of regularity.”<b> </b>It assumes federal officials are acting in good faith.</p><p>Ten defendants in three cases have seen their federal charges permanently dropped<b> </b>in the last month, all as a result of apparent misconduct by Mecklenburg before grand juries.</p><p>That doesn’t include three defendants<b> </b>whose<b> </b>charges<b> </b>were<b> </b>temporarily<b> </b>dropped<b> </b>amid <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/19/shooting-fbi-atf-hotaling-boutros-country-club-hills\" target=\"_blank\" >an unrelated controversy</a> tied to the attempted robbery<b> </b>of undercover federal officers<b> </b>in Country Club Hills.</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-df0000\" name=\"image-df0000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/899076a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/359e441/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg 2x\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/98b90b5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"The so-called \"Broadview Six.\" Clockwise from top left: Michael Rabbitt, Brian Straw, Kat Abughazaleh, Andre Martin, Joselyn Walsh and Catherine “Cat” Sharp.\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/98b90b5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/753aa7f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/98b90b5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3051x1712+0+161/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2Fa6%2F95a93ed84dbeac8e1812670fb181%2Fbroadview6-comp.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>A composite of photos of the so-called “Broadview Six.” Clockwise from top left: Michael Rabbitt, Brian Straw, Kat Abughazaleh, Andre Martin, Joselyn Walsh and Catherine<b> </b>“Cat”<b> </b>Sharp.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Questions remain about the role of Boutros and others in the grand jury scandal. Most of all, it remains unclear who was <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/05/21/broadview-ice-protest-grand-jury-transcript-kat-abughazaleh-trump\" target=\"_blank\" >involved in the redaction</a> of Mecklenburg’s allegedly improper statements from transcripts given to U.S. District Judge April Perry in the “Broadview Six” case.</p><p>That was the conspiracy<b> </b>case<b> </b>brought against six<b> </b>Operation Midway Blitz protesters<b> </b>last fall.</p><p>Prosecutors<b> </b>gave<b> </b>Perry<b> </b>the<b> </b>redacted transcripts<b> </b>in April,<b> </b>two months after Mecklenburg left the U.S. attorney’s office for a temporary detail with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prosecutors also did not correct Perry when she suggested the redactions were likely “IT issues.”</p><p>When Perry finally got her hands on unredacted versions of the transcripts, she said they revealed three types of prosecutorial misconduct.</p><p>Mecklenburg allegedly put her own credibility on the line to support criminal charges, an improper practice known as “vouching.” She excused grand jurors who disagreed with the feds’ case, records show. And she spoke with grand jurors outside of the grand jury room, according to the transcripts.</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/06/09/broadview-six-grand-jury-midway-blitz-boutros-trump\" >Transcripts reveal tension, improprieties during ‘Broadview 6’ grand jury hearings</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>But Perry called the redactions “the most problematic”<b> </b>issue of all.</p><p>“Mistakes happen,” Perry said. “They happen to all of us. But as I tell my children, you own it. You admit to it. You apologize for it, and you move on. What you do not do is hide it.”</p><p>Assistant U.S. Attorney William<b> </b>Hogan<b> </b>told the judge, “I’ll take responsibility for it.”<b> </b>But defense attorneys later insisted “what occurred over the course of this deeply flawed prosecution clearly goes well beyond the mistake of any single assistant United States attorney.”</p><p>Boutros’ office is expected to respond to the request for a special counsel in the “Broadview Six” case by July 7. But Monday, Boutros<b> </b>revealed his plan to “ensure the absence of grand jury irregularities”<b> </b>in indicted cases and<b> </b>“restore the judiciary’s, defense bar’s, and public’s confidence in the grand jury practices and proceedings of the district.”</p><p>The review of Mecklenburg’s cases will be part of that effort, Boutros said. It’s likely little can be done for fully resolved cases, he added.</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/5/15/18626863/corporate-credit-card-fraud-scott-kennedy-crystal-lundberg-nemera\" >Man testifies against escort who allegedly spent millions on his corporate card</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Mecklenburg’s past cases include the 2017<b> </b>fraud<b> </b>prosecution<b> </b>of a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/5/15/18626863/corporate-credit-card-fraud-scott-kennedy-crystal-lundberg-nemera\" target=\"_blank\" >high-ranking financial executive</a> who handed his corporate<b> </b>credit<b> </b>card<b> </b>over<b> </b>to an escort he’d met online. Together, the couple cheated<b> </b>the drug device company Nemera<b> </b>out of nearly $5.8 million.</p><p>During<b> </b>closing arguments in the 2019<b> </b>trial of Crystal<b> </b>Lundberg, one of the two defendants, Mecklenburg told jurors “don’t let her pull the wool over your eyes. Hold her accountable. Hold her responsible.”</p><p>Lundberg wound up with a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/9/21003599/former-escort-fraud-case-company-credit-card-prison\" target=\"_blank\" >53-month<b> </b>prison sentence</a>.</p><p>Mecklenburg<b> </b>also secured a 41-month<b> </b>prison<b> </b>sentence<b> </b>for<b> </b>a<b> </b>onetime<b> </b>disabled<b> </b>children’s<b> </b>charity<b> </b>director<b> </b>who<b> </b>she said<b> </b>stole<b> </b>nearly<b> </b>$1 million<b> </b>from the organization.</p><p>It’s unclear whether either case would be part of Boutros’ grand jury review. Mecklenburg does not appear to have been the prosecutor who secured the indictment<b> </b>in the 2017 fraud prosecution. The children’s charity director pleaded guilty, waiving his right to indictment.</p><p>Mecklenburg more recently participated in two<b> </b>fraud cases<b> </b>against Ahmed and others. They followed controversy involving Loretto Hospital’s distribution<b> </b>of COVID-19<b> </b>vaccines<b> </b>at Trump Tower, where Ahmed had a condo, which was first reported by Block Club Chicago.</p><p>Boutros’ office has <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/11/broadview-six-grand-jury-misconduct-federal-prosecutors-drop-charges-loretto-hospital-covid-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" >already<b> </b>dropped<b> </b>charges</a><b> </b>against<b> </b>two<b> </b>“low level”<b> </b>defendants<b> </b>caught up in one of those prosecutions after<b> </b>U.S. District Judge Sharon<b> </b>Johnson<b> </b>Coleman<b> </b>threatened to hold <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/10/hearing-in-loretto-hospital-case-could-address-claims-of-prosecutors-misconduct-if-feds-dont-drop-it\" target=\"_blank\" >an evidentiary hearing</a> over the grand jury controversy<b> </b>in the U.S. attorney’s office.</p><p>Prosecutors avoided that hearing by dropping the charges. Still, when the feds came to court to make it official, Coleman did not focus on Mecklenburg.</p><p>Rather, the judge asked, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/12/broadview-six-boutros-chicago-abughazaleh-justice-department-doj\" target=\"_blank\" >“where is Mr. Boutros?”</a></p><p>“It’s not a one-man show,” Coleman said. “[And] if there is a one-man show … it’s the U.S. attorney. He decides. … That’s why he’s got the big job.”</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-7f0000\" name=\"image-7f0000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/57e15d6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9158cf5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG 2x\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37ddcfa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"United States Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois at Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37ddcfa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b91b6fc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37ddcfa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fa5%2Ff1%2Ff76c73694e30bf02e7fbc03a3d5d%2Fboutros-260407-05.JPG\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros poses for a photo at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on April 3.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p><i>Contributing: Sophie Sherry</i></p>",
  "title": "As 'Broadview Six' prosecutor faces reckoning, Boutros yet to escape cloud hanging over his office",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-23T23:41:27.592Z"
}