:quality(70):focal(1730x795:1740x805)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/HLAFJ6EL3FBAXACVLNUTLTZNBQ.jpg "Somonauk store owners allegedly charged semi-truck owner ,000 for fake repairs: police – Shaw Local")
SYCAMORE – The Somonauk couple, who own an auto repair shop, allegedly defrauded the owner of a semi-truck out of $28,000 by faking repairs, according to court documents.
According to DeKalb County court records, both spouses are charged with theft by deception and seven counts of forgery. If convicted of forgery, the most serious crime, both spouses face up to five years in prison.
Scott E. Krueger, 47, and his wife, Marie E. Krueger, 44, own and operate Krueger’s Parts and Repair, 10694 Sanderson Road in Somonauk, according to DeKalb County court records dated Aug. 6. The couple was charged Aug. 6 and taken into police custody by DeKalb County Sheriff’s officials and booked into jail on Sunday.
According to police, the theft occurred over a period of several months, from December 2023 to March 2024. According to records, the Kruegers allegedly forged invoices and receipts to defraud the truck’s owners of money.
In December, two Paw Paw residents purchased a 2011 Freightliner Conventional Semi Truck, which was taken to Krueger Parts and Repair for inspection and repairs on Dec. 15, according to court records. The truck’s owners paid Krueger’s repair shop $600 for parts that day.
On Jan. 5, the owners paid the Kruegers another $6,000 for additional parts, according to court records. Another $3,000 was paid on Jan. 22 for labor and another $2,000 on Jan. 29 for “transmission services.” On Feb. 5, the truck owners again paid the Kruegers another $6,000 for additional parts and labor and another $5,000 on Feb. 13.
According to court documents, the truck owners got the truck back from the Kruegers’ shop on March 8 and made a final payment of $3,000.
A police investigation into the payments uncovered fake invoices from companies, police said. The fake invoices the Kruegers allegedly issued came from Weller Truck Parts, Industrial Parts Depot LLC, FleetPride Heavy Duty Parts and Service, Lakeside International LLC, JX Truck Center – Bloomington and Aurora Truck Center, according to court documents.
The Kruegers were arrested on a warrant on Sunday and then released, records show. The charges against them are not warranted under the guidelines of the Pretrial Fairness Act, also known as the SAFE-T Act.
They are ordered to appear for a status hearing before District Judge Philip Montgomery on August 29 at 9 a.m.
A link to the Krueger Parts and Repair website did not appear to work at 5 p.m. Monday. A phone number listed for the company was also unavailable. Calls to the Kruegers were not returned.
