Ex-business owner accused of $1.9 million theft from elderly Cary relative denied public defender

The former CEO of a remodeling company who is accused of stealing $1.9 million from an elderly relative in Cary was denied a public defender during his court appearance Thursday in McHenry County, at which prosecutors also sought to freeze his assets.

Douglas R. Boncosky, 54, of Barrington has been charged with two Class X felonies of aggravated identity theft against a person older than 60, as well as theft of more than $1 million, McHenry County court records show. He was also charged with financial exploitation of a person over 60 years old and forgery, according to the court documents.

A conviction on a Class X felony carries a prison term of up to 30 years.

According to the criminal complaint against him, Boncosky “had written numerous checks to himself as well as his business, America’s Bath” since 2019 on which he “unlawfully signed” the name of his 80-year-old relative name and used the money “for personal gain.” Boncosky had power of attorney over the relative over the four-year period that that authorities allege he took the money.

He appeared in orange jail-issued clothing Thursday Judge Tiffany Davis’ courtroom, where Assistant State’s Attorney Justin Neubauer said the state was filing a motion to freeze Boncosky’s assets.

According to his LinkedIn account and other websites, Boncosky was the founder and CEO of America’s Bath, a remodeling company based in Lake Barrington. Incorporation records filed with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office listed him as manager of the company. A person reached by phone at America’s Bath’s number said it had recently been sold and referred the call to a marketing representative who could not immediately be reached.

Boncosky’s LinkedIn page also lists him as a 1988 graduate of Crystal Lake South High School who went on to receive a business degree from Western Illinois University and in the 2010s ran a company called Stamilton Construction before founding America’s Bath.

Thursday in court, the judge told Boncosky his petition for a public defender was denied and asked if he had an attorney, to which he relied he was working on hiring one.

But after hearing that the state was attempting to freeze his assets, Boncosky inquired as to what that meant and asked: “How can I pay for an attorney if my assets are frozen?”

In an affidavit asking to be provided a public defender, Boncosky said he has been unemployed for three weeks, has no income, owns no property and has a checking account with a balance of $26,000.

He also wrote that he owns a $50,000 2024 Volkswagen, for which he makes monthly payments of $509, as well as about $1,000 in tools “and some house stuff,” and $10,000 in “other assets.”

Records also indicated he has $50,000 in credit card debt and more than $500,000 in debt to “lenders for business account.”

The judge set another court date for Nov. 22 to address the state’s motion and the status of Boncosky’s legal representation.

Davis also wrote in an order filed Thursday that Boncosky continue to be detained in the county jail under the SAFE-T Act “to avoid the specific, real and present threat to any person[s] or the community ... or to prevent the defendant’s willful flight from prosecution.”

It is estimated that $1.9 million was stolen from Boncosky’s family member through wire transfers and fraudulent checks, on which he is accused of forging her name. court records show.

Boncosky had been granted power of attorney over the relative in 2018, according to a Cary Police Department news release.

He was arrested Monday by Cary police and taken to court Tuesday for a pretrial detention hearing, where he was denied release pending trial because he “expressed intent to move to Florida,” court records said.

The court documents noted Boncosky “obtained substantial assets from the alleged events” and changed to a Florida phone number.