A man accused of breaking into apartment buildings in Chicago’s West Loop and Old Town to steal residents’ identities has been charged in a case involving 13 victims, including three over 60, prosecutors say.
A Cook County grand jury recently indicted Daniel Krichilsky, 45, on two counts of burglary, three counts of aggravated identity theft involving victims over 60, and one count of identity theft. Prosecutors allege the scheme took place between April 23, 2023 and January 26, 2024, and the victims suffered losses ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
Of the burglaries detailed in the indictment, prosecutors say Krichilsky targeted an apartment complex in the 700 block of West Randolph Street in the West Loop on May 18, 2023, and another building in the 1500 block of North Orleans Street in Old Town on August 17, 2023. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the burglaries involved theft of mail.
If the allegations are true, the crime spree began while Krichilsky was out on bail in another burglary case stemming from a July 2022 arrest in Lincoln Park. According to court records, a property manager called police after finding Krichilsky in an apartment building in the 2000 block of North Clybourn Avenue, allegedly damaging ovens, an Internet server rack and an office door. While officers were on scene, Krichilsky reportedly told police he was “trying to fix their air conditioning.”
Police arrested him and a search revealed that Krichilsky had $843 in cash, 14 credit cards, debit cards and gift cards, a check, two driver’s licenses with different names, a laptop and two fake US Postal Service master keys, according to court documents.
But in May 2023, a month after the latest round of burglaries allegedly began, prosecutors allowed Krichilsky to reduce the Lincoln Park case to a misdemeanor charge. Judge Timothy Joyce sentenced him to two years of probation, but court records show a probation violation warrant has been issued for Krichilsky’s arrest since October 2024. Krichilsky is free again, awaiting trial.
Court records show Krichilsky’s previous convictions in Cook County include manufacturing or delivering heroin in 2017, for which he was placed on probation; theft of between $100,000 and $500,000 in 2018, which also resulted in probation; and two burglary convictions in 2021 that resulted in a three-year prison sentence, most of which was satisfied by time spent on electronic monitoring.
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