(STNG) MAYWOOD, Ill. A Schaumburg man has been charged under a new Illinois law with illegally manufacturing and selling law enforcement badges, according to a release.

Thomas Gunther, 62, of 1040 Tiverton Ct. in the northwest suburb, was charged Friday by Cook County Sheriff’s Special Operations officers with one count of false law enforcement badges and he could face up to a year in prison, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.

Officers initiated an investigation of Gunther, who serves as a part-time Burnham police officer, in March, according to the release, and on one occasion in March, an undercover officer purchased a fake Chicago Police patrolman’s badge for $375. The actual cost of most badges is about $50, the release said.

Sherriff’s deputies, along with the Chicago Police Internal Affairs and Organized Crime officers, executed a warrant at Gunther’s home on Thursday morning and confiscated more than 200 badges, along with emblems, parts and clasps used in the construction of badges, the release said.

Among the badges seized were a real sheriff’s sergeant’s star, a Chicago Police superintendent’s star, Roselle chief’s badge and officers badges from Hoffman Estates, Dixmoor and Calumet City, the release said. They were found in wooden display boxes with corresponding patches with price tags ranging from $100 to $800 each, the release said.

The new law took effect Jan. 1, and a copy of the law was found among the badges in Gunther’s residence, the release said. He allegedly violated it because he did not have permission from the Sheriff’s Department or Chicago Police to sell badges, and investigators are looking into whether he had permission from the other departments, the release said.

Gunther was free after posting $100 of a $1,000 bond Friday and was assigned a July 18 court date in Maywood, the release said.