Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Winnebago County grand jury indicted Winnebago County Coroner William Hintz on new charges related to alleged misconduct and the theft of government funds.
According to a news release from Raoul's office, William Hintz, 51, was charged with six counts of official misconduct and six counts of theft. The Attorney General’s office previously charged Hintz in October 2020 with two counts of theft, 12 counts of forgery and 23 counts of official misconduct. If convicted, Hintz faces up to 15 years in prison. His next court date is set for Sept. 22.
“The defendant has demonstrated a clear pattern of using the office of the Winnebago County coroner to line his pockets,” Raoul said. “The defendant’s actions took advantage of grieving families and abused the trust of Winnebago County residents. I am committed to ensuring he is held fully responsible to the public he deceived.”
The release says Illinois State Police initially began investigating Hintz over the alleged fraudulent use of a Winnebago County gasoline card and credit card. Following the 2020 indictment, the ISP received additional information that Hintz had stolen around $2,500 paid by the families of people who had been cremated at the county’s expense. Raoul’s latest indictment alleges Hintz required family members to pay cash in order to recover the cremated remains of their homeless loved ones but kept the money for himself.
Raoul’s indictment also alleges that Hintz stole approximately $14,500 in cash that belonged to deceased individuals out of the coroner’s office’s evidence vault. According to the indictment, Hintz claimed that he released some of the money to the county administrator; however, there is no evidence to support that claim or to show the money was deposited into coroner’s office’s accounts.
The Attorney General’s office is prosecuting the case based on a referral by the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s office.
Hintz is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The release says Assistant Attorney General Haley Bookhout is handling the case for Raoul’s Public Integrity Bureau, and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan McKay is handling the case for Raoul’s Criminal Prosecutions and Trials Assistance Bureau.