BLOOMINGTON, Ill — McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of wire fraud.

Sorensen is named in an indictment filed in federal court in Chicago that accuses him and co-defendant Navdeep Arora of filing fraudulent invoices to several clients, including State Farm in Bloomington, and charging them over $490,000 in unearned consulting fees.

State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said the company first brought the issue to federal investigators in April 2012.

Arora worked with an outside consulting firm, McKinsey and Co., while Sorensen worked as internal consultant for State Farm. The indictment accuses Sorensen of keeping at least $400,000 in consulting fees after the two created a couple shell companies called “Gabriel Solutions” and “Andy’s BCB.”

“I was stunned to hear the news,” board member George Gordon said. “Very surprised and that’s putting it mildly.”

Gordon said he heard rumors about Sorensen’s departure from State Farm three years ago.

“But I never felt that I had anything close to a good grasp of the facts of the situation,” Gordon said.

Sorensen has been on the board since 2007. Gordon called it “premature” to discuss potentially removing Sorensen.

Republican Rich Buchanan said this situation is unlike anything he’s seen since joining local politics in 1968.

“My reaction right now is one of being personally interested and concerned about one of the best chairmen we’ve had,” Buchanan said.

Attempts to contact Sorensen have been unsuccessful. He faces five counts of wire fraud and each count carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be arraigned Jan. 11 in Chicago.

McLean County Administrator Bill Wasson said the crimes Sorensen is accused of don’t appear to involve the county board and administrators are reviewing the issue with legal counsel before commenting further regarding Sorensen’s status on the board.