- Annazette Collins, 61, filed bogus policies for made-up clients in her post-policy insurance job, federal prosecutors allege.
- The revelations came on the fourth day of the former Democratic state senator’s trial for allegedly evading nearly $100,000 in federal taxes.
Former Democratic state Sen. Annazette Collins filed bogus policies for fabricated clients in her post-politics insurance work, federal prosecutors alleged Friday.
Collins was caught submitting false insurance policies linked to bank accounts that were controlled by Collins or her daughter, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Parthum told a judge Friday.
The findings came to light during Collins’ ongoing trial for allegedly evading nearly $100,000 in taxes.
During the case, prosecutors revealed that Collins, who represented Chicago’s West Side, was fired from her job at American Income Life Insurance, but said they would not attempt to reveal why unless she decided to take the stand.
U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso ruled that more details could be revealed if Collins took the stand Friday.
Annazette Collins, 61, filed bogus policies for made-up clients in her post-policy insurance job, federal prosecutors allege.
The revelations came on the fourth day of the former Democratic state senator’s trial for allegedly evading nearly $100,000 in federal taxes.
After the ruling, Collins decided not to take the stand in his own defense.
No criminal charges have yet been filed against the former lawmaker in connection with the insurance policy allegations.
The jury in Dirksen Justice Court heard how Collins earned nearly $100,000 from the company on a contract basis selling life insurance policies, income he allegedly never reported on his tax returns.
The 61-year-old is charged with three counts of filing a false individual income tax return, two counts of failing to file a corporate income tax return and one count of intentionally failing to file an individual income tax return. .
Collins has been accused of largely underreporting her lobbying income on tax returns between 2014 and 2018, under her lucrative lobbying and consulting firm, Kourtnie Nicole Corp., which ex-existed after leaving the legislature in 2013.
Collins avoided paying nearly $100,000 in federal taxes over the five-year period, the indictment alleges.
Collins “was a former Illinois state senator and representative who for years had been entrusted with the task of crafting the laws of the state of Illinois,” Parthum said in his opening remarks Tuesday.
Collins has been of interest to prosecutors for years and his name came up during two major corruption trials last year.
In one, four politicians were convicted of a nearly decade-long conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan for the benefit of ComEd.
Jurors in that trial saw a handwritten list of favored lobbyists that included the name ‘Annazette.’
It appeared on stationery at the Talbott Hotel and was supposedly called the “magic list” by Madigan confidant Michael McClain.
Collins’ lobbying firm worked for ComEd and AT&T Illinois, both involved in the investigation that also led to charges against Madigan and McClain.
The tax charges against Collins arise from the same investigation by officials.