A man who has spent most of his adult life running scams is back in prison for, you guessed it, running another scam. Ronnie Ross has pulled so many cons that officials once accused him of operating a $1.2 million fraud ring from inside the Cook County Jail while he was locked up for operating yet another scam.
This time, officials say, Ross ripped people off by posing as a defense attorney during online court hearings in Cook County.
Ross, 39, has pleaded guilty to one count of operating a continuing financial criminal enterprise, in exchange for an 11-year sentence from Judge Peggy Chiampas, according to court records. The judge ordered Ross to serve that sentence concurrently with a four-year term on a gun charge and a two-year sentence for aggravated fleeing, both of which he also pleaded guilty to.
Officials said Ross logged into online Cook County court hearings between September 7, 2022 and October 24, 2022, and impersonated attorneys under different names. He would direct-message defendants during the Zoom hearings, instruct them to log off and call him directly, and then tell them their cases would be resolved favorably in exchange for a fee, the sheriff’s office said. Victims were told to send payment through cash apps, and Ross ultimately collected thousands of dollars, according to investigators.
Following a nearly three-year investigation, a grand jury indicted Ross last October on multiple counts including continuing a financial criminal enterprise, theft by deception, wire fraud, and false impersonation of an attorney, records show.
The scheme exploited a vulnerability that surfaced after Cook County courts shifted almost entirely to Zoom hearings during the pandemic. Although most proceedings have since returned to courtrooms, many judges still conduct some hearings remotely.
In late 2021, CWB Chicago reported that then-Chief Judge Timothy Evans had sent a letter to judges across the county warning that scammers posing as attorneys had infiltrated criminal court proceedings to defraud defendants. Evans told judges that scammers were entering private Zoom chats with defendants, offering to represent them for a fee, and that in some cases defendants sent money to the fake attorneys through Zelle.
Evans asked judges to be mindful of releasing defendants’ personal information during Zoom hearings and, where possible, to avoid stating a defendant’s phone number or address out loud. He also asked judges to encourage defendants to verify an attorney’s credentials before sending money electronically. Evans’ letter did not specify how many people had been victimized or how much money was lost, and the county began warning the public about the fake lawyer scheme after CWB Chicago’s initial reporting.
Ross now has at least 12 felony convictions on his adult record, according to Illinois Department of Corrections and court files.
Last year, he pleaded guilty in McHenry County to impersonating a lawyer and convincing an 88-year-old Algonquin woman to send him $5,000 through two Zelle payments, according to Shaw Local. He received a three-year sentence that was satisfied by time he had already spent in the McHenry County jail.
Ross also generated headlines in 2009 while he was awaiting trial on identity theft charges in the Cook County Jail. At the time, sheriff’s officials said Ross orchestrated a fraud operation from inside the jail that extracted $1.2 million from between 50 and 100 mostly elderly victims.
Officials said the scheme began when Ross stood behind another inmate making a collect call, copied the number the inmate dialed, then later called the man’s father and convinced the father that Ross needed the victim’s credit card information to help his jailed son, according to a 2009 Chicago Tribune report.
Investigators said Ross passed the credit card information to a relative, who used it to add money to Ross’ jail phone and commissary accounts while also buying gasoline and other items for herself and others.
Authorities said the investigation expanded after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alerted the sheriff’s office that Ross was accessing known fraudulent accounts. Investigators then reviewed more than 1,000 recordings of Ross’ jail phone calls and allegedly uncovered “numerous” additional scams, the Tribune reported.
Officials also alleged Ross sold 500-minute phone cards to fellow inmates for $40 in commissary credit. Those phone cards, investigators said, had been purchased with stolen credit card numbers.
The 11-year sentence Ross received will be reduced by 50% for good behavior. It will be further reduced by the time he has spent awaiting trial on the three cases he had pending, including the 2023 gun case. His parole date is currently set for July 23, 2027, according to IDOC.
