Greta Keranen, a New Lenox business owner, said she and her husband, Jeff Regnier, have used her dad’s truck for nearly three years to pick up their two children from school, make the commute to work and even to get to the Will County courthouse, where the couple has 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 a part of investigations, their two Ford Broncos were seized by the state, along with investment accounts estimated to be worth $5.5 million at the time. When the couple bought two replacement cars, those two cars were seized as a part of investigations.

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, Dec. 12, after an Illinois Appellate Court denied the state’s attempt to appeal Barrett’s order.

But Keranen and Regnier said when they picked up the cars, there were damages such as dents and wasp nests. They said they had to get 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 adviser estimated the accounts would be worth $6.5 million in December.

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

Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Byrne said Thursday her office does not have any information on the damage or the allegations being made and that if there are issues, the attorneys will handle accordingly.

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

Assistant State’s Attorney Dant Foulk called a witness Wednesday from Town Center bank, aiming to show the couples’ deposits in 2022 did not indicate they made $400,000 a month. The state claims Kee Construction did not make this income but that Regnier stated they did on forms used to buy two Ford Broncos in 2023.

Defense attorney Frank Andreano argued the bank statements were not relevant because the case concerned a loan the business owners made with Ally Bank in 2023.

Barrett expressed frustration in how long the case was taking, and said he hopes to wrap it up by Jan. 7.

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

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

“It’s all bigger than us, as much as it’s impacting us,” Keranen said. “The more I went to civil forfeiture court, my eyes opened that they’re not using it for its intended purpose, and I think that’s what the judges see. This is not what forfeiture is meant for; it is meant for blatant crime.”

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

Under Illinois law, 65% of forfeiture proceeds go to the arresting agency, which in this case is either Will County sheriff or U.S. Secret Service, 12.5% goes to the state’s attorney, 12.5% to the state appellate prosecutor and 10% to Illinois State Police.

Keranen said it was hard to lose her car in 2023, which was how she got to work, and said she’s seen forfeiture affect other people in similar ways, such as a 19-year-old in court Wednesday, who said she needed her seized car to get to school.

Regnier and Keranen’s lawyer on the forfeiture case, Andreano, said Wednesday he specializes in forfeiture law and has seen people give up on their efforts to regain their property due to the time, legal jargon and the money it takes to fight back.

He called Illinois forfeiture law “policing and prosecuting” for profit because having funds from forfeited property go to the state appellate prosecutor gives them incentive for the use of 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 with “frivolous” civil forfeiture cases, which is still pending.

The New Lenox couple still face another round of charges, including money laundering and filing a fraudulent Illinois sales and use tax return, first filed in 2023. These charges are scheduled for trial on March 2.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/18/new-lenox-kee-firearms-cars-damaged/