Former Carlyle police chief accused of embezzling over $100K, feds say
.jpeg "Police Chief Mark Pingsterhaus")
A former Carlyle police chief has been indicted on allegations of embezzling over $100,000 to buy personal items including a diamond engagement ring and two tickets to a WNBA game in Washington, D.C.
Mark A. Pingsterhaus, 52, of Carlyle, was indicted on two counts of wire fraud and two counts of theft of government funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
A summons filed Tuesday in federal court calls for Pingsterhaus to report to a judge at 11 a.m. March 16 in the federal courthouse in East St. Louis.
Court records do not list an attorney for Pingsterhaus.
“We strongly support law enforcement because the overwhelming majority of officers serve with dedication, honor, and courage. But when any officer, especially a chief, betrays the community they are sworn to protect, we will take decisive action,” U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft said in the news release.
Pingsterhaus resigned from the Carlyle Police Department late last year after city officials said he was being investigated by the FBI. He had filed to run in the March 17 Republican primary for Clinton County sheriff, but he withdrew his name from the ballot in January.
“Pingsterhaus is facing charges for allegedly embezzling funds from at least January 2017 to November 2025 as police chief for the City of Carlyle and as the chief financial officer for the Carlyle Fire Protection District,” the news release states.
The indictment alleges Pingsterhaus used a credit card tied to a city of Carlyle account to buy tickets to a Sept. 19, 2024, WNBA game in Washington, D.C.
In November 2022, he allegedly used a credit card tied to the Carlyle Fire Protection District to buy a diamond engagement ring, according to the indictment.
Pingsterhaus had a Carlyle Police Department employee “cash checks to cash for him on Carlyle’s Drug and Education Fund account at a Carlyle bank “by falsely telling the employee that the money would be used as ‘buy money’ in undercover drug operations,” the indictment states. “Instead, Pingsterhaus took the money for himself.”
The charging documents allege he “wrote checks for unauthorized expenses on the Carlyle Fire Protection District account at a Carlyle bank.
“In furtherance of the scheme to defraud, Pingsterhaus concealed his fraud against Carlyle City by unlawfully using the fund of the Carlyle Fire Protection District to buy goods and services for the Carlyle City Police Department,” the indictment alleges.
Capitol News Illinois has reported that Pingsterhaus had a $115,000 salary as police chief. He had served as police since 2012. Jason Herzing was promoted to chief to replace Pingsterhaus.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said a conviction for wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a conviction for theft of government funds is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The city of Carlyle issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging the indictment and its cooperation with the investigation against Pingsterhaus.
“The City of Carlyle would like to assure the citizens of the community that police services have not and will not be affected by this investigation,” the statement said. “The City of Carlyle has full confidence in the current police department. We want to make clear, no one else in the Carlyle Police Department was involved. The city has total confidence in the new Police Chief Jason Herzing and all the officers.
The FBI Springfield Field Office is leading the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed is prosecuting the case.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 10:48 AM.
