Alan J. Hanke of Crystal Lake

A Crystal Lake man due to be sentenced next week in connection with an $8 million Ponzi scheme is trying to take back a guilty plea in which he admitted to defrauding a local veterans’ organization.

Alan J. Hanke, 61, pleaded guilty in McHenry County court July 24 to using a credit or debit card with the intent to defraud, a Class 4 felony. The charge stems from accusations Hanke stole money from the McHenry-based Sons of the American Legion Post 491.

But in a motion to withdraw his guilty plea filed Aug. 21, Hanke claims that the plea was entered “under a misapprehension of the law … (and) the facts” and he now wants his case heard by a jury.

A new lawyer representing Hanke wrote in the court filing that Hanke’s previous attorney “forced and coerced” him

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