New Lenox business owners say returned cars were damaged

Greta Keranen, a business owner in New Lenox, said she and her husband, Jeff Regnier, have used his father’s truck for nearly three years to pick up their two children from school, go to work and even drive to the Will County courthouse, where the couple faced Illinois’ forfeiture law head-on.

Keranen and Regnier, of Kee Construction and Kee Firearms, were charged with fraud and money laundering by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in 2023. As part of the investigation, their two Ford Broncos were seized by the state, along with investment accounts estimated at the time to be worth $5.5 million. When the couple purchased two replacement cars, both cars were seized as part of an investigation.

Will County Judge Brian Barrett ordered the state to return two of the cars and the investment accounts. The Will County Sheriff’s Office returned the two cars, along with some of the investment funds, on Dec. 12 after an Illinois appeals court rejected the state’s attempt to appeal Barrett’s order.

But Keranen and Regnier said when they collected the returned cars, there were damages such as dents and wasp nests. They said they had to have the cars towed.

Regnier also said the state still owes them about $2 million for their investment accounts. He said the state wrote them a check for $4.4 million as payment for the investment accounts, but their financial advisor estimated the accounts were worth $6.5 million in December.

He also said the state transferred funds from Fidelity’s account to the Will County Cooperative Assistance Team, according to an email submitted as evidence in court documents.

Laura Byrne, an assistant state’s attorney, said Thursday that her office had no information about the damages or the allegations made and that if there were problems, attorneys would respond accordingly.

The return of the final two cars was argued Wednesday in a Will County court, and the case is scheduled to resume Jan. 6-7.

Assistant State’s Attorney Dant Foulk called a witness from Town Center Bank on Wednesday, aiming to show that the couples’ 2022 deposits did not indicate they earned $400,000 a month. The state says Kee Construction did not generate that income, but that Regnier reported doing so on forms used to purchase two Ford Broncos in 2023.

Defense attorney Frank Andreano argued that the bank statements were irrelevant because the case involved a loan the business owners took out from Ally Bank in 2023.

Barrett expressed frustration with the length of the case and said he hoped to conclude it by January 7.

Although Keranen and Regnier have had some legal successes — being cleared of some fraud charges in November and winning the forfeiture trial that resulted in the return of two cars — they said their nearly three years of trial have been eye-opening.

They said they have observed dozens of other forfeiture cases, exposing them to what they see as serious problems with Illinois forfeiture law.

“All of this is beyond us, to the extent that it impacts us,” Keranen said. “The more I went to civil forfeiture court, the more my eyes were opened to the fact that they weren’t using it for its intended purpose, and I think that’s what the judges see. That’s not what forfeiture is for; it’s for an egregious crime.”

The Illinois Money Laundering Act, which was used to take Keranen and Regnier’s property in 2023, allows the state to seize property related to financial crimes, primarily through civil forfeiture, without a conviction.

Under Illinois law, 65% of the forfeiture proceeds go to the arresting agency, which in this case is either the Will County Sheriff or the U.S. Secret Service, 12.5% ​​goes to the State Attorney, 12.5% ​​to the State Appellate Attorney, and 10% to the Illinois State Police.

Keranen said it’s hard to lose her car in 2023, which is how she got to work, and said she’s seen it affect other people the same way, like a 19-year-old in court Wednesday who said she needed her impounded car to get to school.

Regnier and Keranen’s lawyer in the forfeiture case, Andreano, said Wednesday that he specializes in forfeiture law and has seen people abandon efforts to recover their property because of the time, legalese and money it takes to fight back.

He characterized Illinois’ forfeiture law as “control and prosecution” for profit because the fact that funds from forfeited property go to the state’s appellate attorney creates an incentive for them to resort to forfeiture.

Keranen and Regnier filed a federal lawsuit in January 2025, claiming Will County authorities and the U.S. Secret Service targeted them and others in “frivolous” civil forfeiture cases, which are still pending.

The New Lenox couple also faces another set of charges, including money laundering and filing an Illinois fraudulent sales and use tax return, first filed in 2023. Those charges are scheduled to go to trial on March 2.

awright@chicagotribune.com