5 charged in statewide video gaming theft ring; more than $100K stolen

CHICAGO — Five people face multiple felony charges after allegedly working together to steal more than $100,000 from video gaming machines across Illinois.

One man remains at large.

Illinois prosecutors allege five people — John Friedrich, 35, of Streator; Joseph Montoro, 39, of Berwyn; Sebastian Perez, 41, of Chicago; Jacob Sickel, 20, of Brookfield; and Don Wiley, 53, of University Park — were involved in a string of 22 burglaries in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Champaign, Lake, Tazewell, DeWitt, Peoria, Kankakee, McLean and Will counties.

The burglaries occurred in 2023 from January to November.

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Charges include:

Friedrich (who authorities are seeking the whereabouts of) is charged with:

• One count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony.
• One count of money laundering, a Class 3 felony.
• Six counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.

Montoro is charged with:

• One count of theft between $100,000 and $500,000; a Class 1 felony.
• One count of money laundering, a Class 2 felony.
• Twenty counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
• One count of attempted burglary, a Class 3 felony.

Perez is charged with:

• One count of theft between $500 and $10,000; a Class 3 felony.
• Two counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
• One count of attempted burglary, a Class 3 felony.

Sickel is charged with:

• One count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000; a Class 2 felony.
• Ten counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
• One count of attempted burglary, a Class 3 felony.

Wiley is charged with:

• One count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000; a Class 2 felony.
• Eight counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
• One count of attempted burglary, a Class 3 felony.

Except for Friedrich, all charged individuals await an initial court appearance in DuPage County. The Attorney General’s Office provided no booking photos of the suspects.

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