2 real estate developers found guilty of embezzling millions from failed Washington Federal Bank

CHICAGO - Two real estate developers were convicted last week of participating in a conspiracy that embezzled millions of dollars from the failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago. 

Miroslaw Krejza, 65, of Chicago, and Marek Matczuk, 60, of Park Ridge, Ill., were convicted Friday of conspiring to commit embezzlement and falsify bank records, as well as aiding and abetting embezzlement by bank employees.  

Washington Federal, which was based in the Bridgeport neighborhood, was shut down in 2017 after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determined the bank was insolvent and had at least $66 million in nonperforming loans.

For more than a decade, prosecutors said Krejza and Matczuk were part of a conspiracy that embezzled millions of dollars in bank funds.

The funds were disguised as purported real estate development loan disbursements to Krejza, Matczuk and others. The conspirators were never required to repay the purported loans. 

The federal investigation into Washington Federal led to criminal charges against 16 defendants, including the bank's CFO, Treasurer and other high-ranking employees, for conspiring to embezzle at least $31 in bank funds.

Much of the embezzled money was transferred to Robert M. Kowalski, a Chicago attorney, and other individuals outside the bank.

Earlier this year, a jury convicted Robert Kowalski on bankruptcy fraud, bank embezzlement and fast statement charges.

Krejza, Matczuk, and two others were convicted after jury trials, while ten defendants pleaded guilty and two entered into deferred prosecution agreements, prosecutors said.