The former owner of an Illinois gun store and his wife have been found not guilty of charges of fraud, but the prosecution of the pair has still had irreparable effects on their lives.
Jeffery Regnier, who owned Kee Firearms and Training, and his wife Greta Keranen, were originally charged with dozens of felonies by Will County prosecutors back in 2023, but the state's case has had problems from the get-go. Most of those initial charges were ultimately dismissed by the prosecutor before trial, leaving only two fraud charges in this case (the couple face another trial on separate charges of money laundering and filing a fraudulent Illinois sales and use tax return early next year).
As the Chicago Tribune reports, the state's case against the couple was so thin they didn't even bother presenting a defense.
Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak acquitted Jeffery Regnier, owner of Kee Firearms and Training, and Greta Keranen, of Kee Construction, of forgery, and Keranen of loan and wire fraud connected to the purchase of two vehicles. The defendants moved directly to closing arguments without calling any witnesses of their own.
Prosecutors claimed that Regnier initiated a false claim that Kee Construction earned $400,000 a month on forms used to buy two Ford Broncos in 2023. The state also argued that Keranen later reinforced the lie by signing the paperwork.
The state dropped these charges in July after Bertani-Tomczak denied the prosecutors’ request to reschedule the trial, but refiled them in August. The state also dropped charges of theft by deception and burglary Nov. 17.
The Will County state’s attorney’s office declined to comment Monday on the judge’s ruling.
Defense attorney Lawrence Beaumont said throughout the case the alleged false information on the business credit application was created by the auto dealership and not the defendants. The defendants also claimed the bank that approved the loan did so automatically within seconds and did not rely on the disputed estimate of Kee Construction’s gross monthly profit.
Beaumont said Monday the defendants decided not to call witnesses because the state did not present enough evidence.
“In my opinion, it was clear from the evidence from the state, that they failed to prove their argument beyond a reasonable doubt,” Beaumont said.
In addition to the criminal charges, Will County officials used Illinois' civil forfeiture law to seize both of the Ford Broncos, as well as investment accounts with millions of dollars in assets. Thankfully, back in July the pair successfully sued to get their belongings returned to them, and the Illinois Supreme Court declined to take up the case after Will County appealed to the state's highest court.
While prosecutors still have active charges against Regnier and Keranen, they're essentially 0-for-2 against the couple, and I can't help but wonder if the remaining charges will be dropped before their trial begins next March. I also wonder if there is any anti-gun motivation involved in the pair's prosecution, given that the initial investigation was allegedly triggered by a $750,000 deposit Regnier made during the Great Gun Run of 2020.
I'm sure many FFLs around the country were relatively flush with cash when it seemed like everyone and their dog was heading to their local gun shop over concerns about civil unrest, riots, and the impact of the COVID shutdowns. It seems odd that one deposit would lead to so many criminal charges against the couple, and the investigation has looked even more politically motivated as time has passed.
Regnier said the case demonstrated the danger “when prosecutors pursue charges against law-abiding citizens without evidence of wrongdoing.”
“When that happens, it blurs the line between the good and the bad, and ordinary people pay the price while those responsible face no accountability,” Regnier said. “We hope no other family has to endure what we went through, and we look forward to moving on with our lives.”
I hope they can move forward as well, but their lives will never be the same. Regnier, for instance, had to shut down his gun store after prosecutors filed criminal charges against him. He lost his Illinois Firearms Dealer license and ultimately had to close his doors when he couldn't pay the mortgage on his building in November, 2024.
Will County may not have been successful in taking Regnier's cars, money, or his freedom, but they absolutely took away his business... and in doing so, they also robbed northern Illinois residents of a valuable community hub for gun owners. Regnier used to host some of the most affordable concealed carry courses in the state at Kee Firearms, where students only had to pay a $30 range fee to attend, but that came to an end when his store shut down. Regnier estimated that 400 people attended those classes every month, and the closure of Kee Firearms and Range impacted hundreds more who regularly visited the range to train.
Illinois has already adopted onerous licensing laws and security mandates for FFLs that have put some gun shops out of business, but the ongoing prosecution of Regnier suggests that when those restrictions fail to cause the demise of a gun shop, anti-gun officials are ready and willing to do everything they can to shutter these stores... even if it means bringing a weak case to court years down the road.
