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The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Urbana has confirmed to WITY that Carol Ammons an d her husband AAron Ammons were indicted on federal criminal charges. We now have details from Hannah Meisel of Capitol News Illinois:
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State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, faces 10 counts of wire fraud, making a false statement to the FBI and conspiracy to obstruct justice, while her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, faces two obstruction of justice counts.
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A federal grand jury indicted the Ammonses late Tuesday following an FBI investigation at least two years in the making. Their indictment follows unemployment fraud charges brought last month against their daughter, Titianna Ammons, who features prominently in Tuesday’s indictment as a conduit for illegal cash kickbacks to Carol Ammons.
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Prosecutors allege that starting in 2017, Ammons and her daughter “received financial benefits in excess of $100,000” via a scheme including illegal payments from the “Friends of Carol Ammons” campaign account and from payments made to Titianna Ammons from local nonprofits that received state grant funds arranged by the lawmaker.
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Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch stopped short of calling on Ammons to resign from her seat but said he is temporarily removing her from “any and all House Democratic Caucus meetings, House committees, and from accessing Speaker’s Office staff and resources,” calling the allegations against her “extremely serious.”
This follows the indictment of the Titianna Ammons, daughter of Carol and Aaron Ammons and Chief Deputy Circuit Clerk in Urbana. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office: “A federal grand jury indicted an Urbana woman, Titianna Ammons, of the 1100 block of North Busey Avenue, on three counts of wire fraud for allegedly defrauding the U.S. Department of Labor and Illinois Department of Employment Security from October of 2020 to October of 2021.
“The indictment alleges that Ammons applied for and received unemployment insurance benefits from around October 24, 2020, until around September 10, 2021. Beginning in January of 2021, Ammons’s unemployment insurance benefits included approximately $300 extra per week in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits that were authorized and paid in connection with the presidentially declared major disaster and emergency proclamation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment alleges that, during the time Ammons was receiving unemployment insurance benefits, she worked for and received money from various entities, including as an elected District 11 representative on the Champaign County Board. Nonetheless, Ammons falsely certified to the Illinois Department of Employment Security that she did not work and did not receive any wages while receiving benefits. As a result, she received unemployment insurance benefits to which she was not entitled, according to the indictment.
Ammons was served with a summons to appear in federal court in Urbana for arraignment on June 11, 2026. If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for each of the alleged crimes charged are a maximum of thirty years of imprisonment, a maximum five-year term of supervised release, a maximum $1 million fine, and restitution.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller is representing the government in the prosecution.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.