From the U.S. Attorney:
FEDERAL INDICTMENT CHARGES MAN WITH FORGING SIGNATURES OF UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGES
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a man for allegedly forging the signatures of two United States District Court judges in court filings.
WALTER BRZOWSKI, 67, of Chicago, is charged with eleven counts of forgery in an indictment returned Tuesday in the Northern District of Illinois. Each count is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
According to the indictment and a criminal complaint previously filed in the case, Brzowski represented himself in numerous civil lawsuits that he initiated in federal court in Chicago.
The U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed the lawsuits and found that many of Brzowski’s filings were frivolous.
In 2021, the Executive Committee of the U.S. District Court in Chicago issued an order placing restrictions on Brzowski’s ability to file new civil cases and warned that violating the order may lead to monetary sanctions or a contempt of court finding.
In 2023, Brzowski filed a “notice” in the District Court stating that he was relieved of any previously imposed prohibitions and instructing the District Court Clerk’s Office to “rescind any filing restrictions,” the charges allege.
The notice included an attached Executive Committee Order that was purportedly signed by U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.
The District Court determined that Brzowski had forged Judge Pallmeyer’s signature and sanctioned him $25,000, the charges allege.
Brzowski allegedly continued to file materials with the Court, including multiple filings in 2025 that contained forged signatures of Judge Pallmeyer and U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Stern.
“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.”
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
