MINOOKA, IL — The life of Ken Courtright, a Minooka resident who lived in one of the area’s most affluent subdivisions, continues to fall apart and on Thursday a Chicago judge sentenced the fraud artist to seven-and-a-half years of time in a federal penitentiary, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Four years ago this week, Patch reported Courtright was accused of running a Ponzi-type scheme that took advantage of more than 500 investors over the previous few years.
Courtright ran his business called The Income Store out of his luxury home in the Ninovan Lake Estates.
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In July, Patch reported that the Minooka businessman was found guilty of wire fraud charges after federal prosecutors said he came up with a scheme to take more than $130 million. Now 53 years old, Courtright was convicted of all seven counts of wire fraud, and he faced up to 140 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois announced last summer.
In recent weeks, several of Courtright’s grown children submitted letters to the federal sentencing judge, Matthew Kennelly, claiming that their father was not a criminal.
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Courtright’s children remain in denial about their father’s role as a con artist.
“From having Ken Courtright as a father, my greatest takeaway is that happiness is a choice … Since December 30, 2019, my father has been painted a schemer, a criminal, a fraud, and other words I’d rather not write. No other man, in my opinion, has had it worse than my father over the past 3 years,” wrote his daughter Kameron Courtright. “In a blink of an eye pretty much everything that a man works for – honor, trust, loyalty, admiration – has been stripped away from him against his will. Somehow, his outlook on life remains positive. Some would say even more positive than it should. He proves that no man can take anything worth keeping.
“Despite my disagreement for the guilty verdict, the past few years have offered me a chance to reevaluate my father. If anything has changed, I am more certain now than three years ago that my father is a good man … I could hate the policeman that woke me up half naked, giving me less than a minute to grab pants and force me to watch my father be handcuffed while hiding the eyes of my then 12-year- old brother.
“Or I could hate the authors of The Patch for filling my high school peers with assumptions resulting in rumors spreading about my family during my senior year of high school and me being bullied for the second time. I could even hate each man and woman of the jury for finding my father guilty and curse them for their decision. Despite all my reasons to fill myself with anger, there is something inside me that is physically unable to hold resentment against anyone involved.”
Kameron Courtright’s letter to the federal judge suggested if he sentenced her father to prison, Ken Courtright would write a book or have his story turn into a movie someday.
“If you send my father to prison, he’ll write a book, maybe even make it a movie,” she wrote. “Maybe my father’s absence will strike a chord in my siblings and I to start a movement against injustice that will change American history. Regardless of your decision, I know deep in my heart that only good will come from it.”
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Kara Courtright, another daughter of the criminal, wrote the sentencing judge, professing that “Ken Courtright will work hard to provide for his family, but he does so with honesty, integrity, and a clear head. My dad operates with a clear mind and a good head on his shoulders. He does not make rash decisions or let his emotions cloud his judgement. I had first-handedly worked with him and have gotten to experience how and why he does what he does. He never hides problems, never brushes around the truth, and never makes a decision that could hurt his family.”
Kara Courtright’s letter went on to explain, “I beseech you to listen to your heart and know that Ken is a good man, a great father, and a person of high integrity.”
A letter from the defendant’s son, Kenny Courtright, informed Judge Kennelly that “My dad is my greatest mentor. His encouragement not only led me to join my high school’s tennis team but also fostered connections and interests I might have otherwise overlooked.
“Without him, I wouldn’t have met the people who have become an integral part of my life, nor would I have developed a genuine interest in engineering or mathematics. Without his influence, I would undoubtedly be stuck in this world feeling nothing but lost. My dad is also my greatest inspiration. Whether playing basketball together, going to the gym, or attempting to engage with my niche interests, he always made the effort. Even after long days, he found time to enthusiastically practice tennis and share with me the details of his latest work.
” Judge Kennelly, thank you for reading, and I ask that you please consider these facts when determining your sentence.”
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