Couple accused of diverting $2 million worth of gas, electricity to their company

CHICAGO — A Chicago-area couple has been charged with money laundering and theft for illegally diverting about $2 million worth of natural gas and electricity over the past several years to their pet food company, prosecutors say.

Joel Sher, 54, and his wife Holly, 52, of Lincolnwood, own Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food company, a high-end pet food company that has been featured on the Rachel Ray television show and other TV outlets. For the last several years,
investigators have been looking into whether the couple had been
stealing from Commonwealth Edison and Nicor, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

The couple not only tampered with a Nicor
meter but built “a separate pipe to divert the flow of gas prior to
reaching the meter,” prosecutors said. “A two-way valve was inserted so
that the gas flow could be redirected to the meter when inspections
occurred by Nicor.”

The Shers diverted electricity by tapping into main
power lines. “Wires and fuses were attached to the high-voltage wires
and then connected to the electric supply,” prosecutors said.

Nicor said it was
alerted by a former worker for the pet food company in December of 2008
that gas was being diverted to the property. In September of 2009, a
company worker told Commonwealth Edison how the couple was tapping into
electricity, prosecutors said.

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Web site describes the company as the “finest natural dog food company in the United States.”

Bail was set at $250,000 for Joel Sher and $200,000 for Holly Sher in a hearing Wednesday.

If Holly Sher is released on bail, she will be allowed to travel to Orlando, Fla., for a trade show, and to Los Angeles for a Seder celebration for cats and dogs, according to the conditions of bail.

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