A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted Walter Brzowski, 67, on charges of forging the signatures of two United States District Court judges. The indictment, returned in the Northern District of Illinois, accuses Brzowski of eleven counts of forgery. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison. An arraignment date has not yet been set.
According to court documents and a previously filed criminal complaint, Brzowski represented himself in several civil lawsuits he initiated in federal court. Both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed these lawsuits and found many filings to be frivolous. In 2021, the Executive Committee of the U.S. District Court restricted Brzowski’s ability to file new civil cases and warned that violating this order could result in sanctions or contempt findings.
The indictment alleges that in 2023, Brzowski submitted a notice claiming he was no longer subject to filing restrictions and directed court staff to remove those limitations. This notice included an attached Executive Committee Order purportedly signed by U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer. The court determined that Judge Pallmeyer’s signature had been forged and sanctioned Brzowski $25,000 as a result. Despite this sanction, prosecutors allege that Brzowski continued submitting materials with forged signatures from both Judge Pallmeyer and Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall into 2025.
The announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge at the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Stern is representing the government.
“The forgery of a judge’s signature is a serious matter and an attack on the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “We will hold accountable those who use forgeries and frauds to undermine the important judicial work of the Honorable Judges of the Northern District of Illinois.”
“The defendant allegedly sent fraudulent court orders through the U.S. mail bearing forged signatures of multiple United States District Court judges in an effort to circumvent standing orders and unlawfully twist the legal system to his favor,” said Inspector-in-Charge Mendonça. “Thankfully, Chicago Postal Inspectors uncovered his scheme to delegitimize the rule of law, and brought him to justice.”
Authorities remind that an indictment is not evidence of guilt; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
