Fraternal benefit society accuses former treasurer of giving himself $40K in bonuses

A not for profit fraternal benefit society has accused its former treasurer of stealing thousands of dollars by giving himself unauthorized bonuses.

National Catholic Society of Foresters filed suit July 23 in Cook County Circuit Court against Jon Mocol, who until this May, had served as the group's treasurer since 2010 and as a director since 2006.

According to the complaint, Mocol, in his roles for the society, caused a $10,000 bonus to be paid to himself on Feb. 28 without proper authorization.

Mocol, the suit alleges, committed the same act three more times between Feb. 28 and April 15 before his actions were discovered and the Mount Prospect-based society removed him from both positions in May.

Mocol, a Minnesota resident, is accused of breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud and conversion.

The National Catholic Society of Foresters is seeking the return of the $40,000 it claims Mocol took from it, as well as punitive damages in an amount not less than $120,000.

It is represented by Northbrook attorney E. Michael Ciesla of Ciesla & Ciesla P.C.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L007685.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it represents only one side of the story.