Cook County Recorder of Deeds Clerk Charged for Accepting Cash Bribe

A former clerk for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds is accused of accepting a $200 cash bribe in exchange for preparing and agreeing to record a back-dated deed on an Oak Park home, according to a federal indictment announced Friday.

Regina Taylor, 59, of Chicago, allegedly accepted the bribe from an individual who purportedly wanted to add a relative’s name to the deed of the home, according to the indictment. The person turned out to be an undercover law enforcement agent. She is charged with one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud in federal court, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois.

Taylor is accused of offering and agreeing to prepare a false quit claim deed that added the purported relative to the deed of the Oak Park property, which was allegedly owned by three deceased individuals, according to the indictment.

Taylor told the undercover agent she usually charges $500 to prepare and record the fraudulent documents, but in this instance she was willing to charge only $200, the indictment states. Taylor directed the undercover agent not to tell anyone the other individuals on the deed were deceased, according to the indictment.

She then prepared a fraudulent quit claim deed and back-dated it by 18 months, confirming the purported relative as a grantee, according to the news release.

After giving the fraudulent quit claim deed to the undercover agent to get stamped at the village of Oak Park, the undercover agent gave Taylor $200 in cash, according to the indictment. Taylor further directed the undercover agent to bring back the stamped copy of the fraudulent deed so that Taylor could file it at the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, according to the indictment.

Taylor is expected to be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m.

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