McHenry County Blog

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald issued a press release today implicating two Round Lake Beach Residents. This continues the Chicago-area effort to attack the supply side of the mortgage fraud scandal. The details follow:

CHICAGO – Six Chicago area defendants were indicted on federal charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $10 million in mortgage loan proceeds from various lenders by submitting false loan applications and supporting documents, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

The defendants, who include

• loan officers, processors,
• a contractor and
• an unlicensed appraiser,

were each charged with one or more counts of mail, wire or bank fraud in an eight-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury yesterday.

As part of the alleged scheme, the indictment specifies eight residential properties – seven of them on the south side of Chicago – upon which mortgage loans were fraudulently obtained between 2002 and 2007.

Two of the defendants, Deangelo McMahan, 36, of Hazel Crest, and Fred Haywood, 37, of Chicago, both of whom were loan officers for various mortgage lenders, were initially indicted in December. Four new defendants are

• Rita McKenzie, 39, of Round Lake Beach, a loan processor;
• Steve Young, 51, of Flossmoor, a loan officer;
• Carl McMahan, 42, of Round Lake Beach, Deangelo McMahan’s brother who operated a purported home re-construction business; and
• Sumira Persaud, 32, of Blue Island, an unlicensed appraiser.

Arrest warrants have been issued for McKenzie and Carl McMahan, while the others will be ordered to appear for arraignment at a later date in U.S. District Court, including Deangelo McMahan and Haywood, who were previously released on bond.

According to the indictment, the defendants schemed to arrange for buyers with good credit, but insufficient income, to purchase homes by promising them money for acting as nominees, knowing that in most cases the buyers did not intend to occupy the homes as their primary residences or fulfill any long term payment obligations.

The defendants and others caused false information to be included in mortgage loan applications regarding the applicant’s income, assets, employment, intention to occupy the home and the source of the down payment so the applicant would falsely appear to qualify for a loan.

They also allegedly schemed to create false appraisals that did not reflect the fair market value of the properties and were designed to create excess value.

In some instances the defendants funneled excess cash they generated from inflated appraisals on the properties to sham businesses they had created, while other times they flipped the properties from one sale to another to make a profit, the charges allege.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $2,383,020, which reflects the loss suffered by various mortgage companies that were victims of the alleged fraud scheme.

The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas P. Brady, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan.

Each count of mail and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The Court, however, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald issued a press release today implicating two Round Lake Beach Residents. This continues the Chicago-area effort to attack the supply side of the mortgage fraud scandal. The details follow:

CHICAGO – Six Chicago area defendants were indicted on federal charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $10 million in mortgage loan proceeds from various lenders by submitting false loan applications and supporting documents, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

The defendants, who include

• loan officers, processors,
• a contractor and
• an unlicensed appraiser,

were each charged with one or more counts of mail, wire or bank fraud in an eight-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury yesterday.

As part of the alleged scheme, the indictment specifies eight residential properties – seven of them on the south side of Chicago – upon which mortgage loans were fraudulently obtained between 2002 and 2007.

Two of the defendants, Deangelo McMahan, 36, of Hazel Crest, and Fred Haywood, 37, of Chicago, both of whom were loan officers for various mortgage lenders, were initially indicted in December. Four new defendants are

• Rita McKenzie, 39, of Round Lake Beach, a loan processor;
• Steve Young, 51, of Flossmoor, a loan officer;
• Carl McMahan, 42, of Round Lake Beach, Deangelo McMahan’s brother who operated a purported home re-construction business; and
• Sumira Persaud, 32, of Blue Island, an unlicensed appraiser.

Arrest warrants have been issued for McKenzie and Carl McMahan, while the others will be ordered to appear for arraignment at a later date in U.S. District Court, including Deangelo McMahan and Haywood, who were previously released on bond.

According to the indictment, the defendants schemed to arrange for buyers with good credit, but insufficient income, to purchase homes by promising them money for acting as nominees, knowing that in most cases the buyers did not intend to occupy the homes as their primary residences or fulfill any long term payment obligations.

The defendants and others caused false information to be included in mortgage loan applications regarding the applicant’s income, assets, employment, intention to occupy the home and the source of the down payment so the applicant would falsely appear to qualify for a loan.

They also allegedly schemed to create false appraisals that did not reflect the fair market value of the properties and were designed to create excess value.

In some instances the defendants funneled excess cash they generated from inflated appraisals on the properties to sham businesses they had created, while other times they flipped the properties from one sale to another to make a profit, the charges allege.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $2,383,020, which reflects the loss suffered by various mortgage companies that were victims of the alleged fraud scheme.

The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas P. Brady, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan.

Each count of mail and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The Court, however, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes is running against Dan Duffy for the 26th state senate seat now held Bill Peterson.

While putting up a

at the intersection of the Crystal Lake-McHenry Blacktop and Crystal Springs Road, I noticed a Bill Gentes sign on the northwest corner of the intersection–well north of Crystal Lake. (The two signs above located just up from the Bull Valley Village Hall were stolen within the last two days.)

The next time I got an email from the Gentes folks, I asked where the Crystal Springs Road sign was at the edge of his district. I was told it was a bit outside the district, but close.

Sunday night I got a recorded phone call from Gentes.

I didn’t get it all but he talked about having “fought corruption at the local level,” having built up Round Lake’s reserves to $16 million and advocated “a cap on property tax assessments.”

I am sure that Duffy would take issue to some of his claims, but I have another point.

If eastern edge of Crystal Springs Road is not in the 26th District, most assuredly Lakewood is not.

Must be nice to have money to burn.

Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes is running against Dan Duffy for the 26th state senate seat now held Bill Peterson.

While putting up a

at the intersection of the Crystal Lake-McHenry Blacktop and Crystal Springs Road, I noticed a Bill Gentes sign on the northwest corner of the intersection–well north of Crystal Lake. (The two signs above located just up from the Bull Valley Village Hall were stolen within the last two days.)

The next time I got an email from the Gentes folks, I asked where the Crystal Springs Road sign was at the edge of his district. I was told it was a bit outside the district, but close.

Sunday night I got a recorded phone call from Gentes.

I didn’t get it all but he talked about having “fought corruption at the local level,” having built up Round Lake’s reserves to $16 million and advocated “a cap on property tax assessments.”

I am sure that Duffy would take issue to some of his claims, but I have another point.

If eastern edge of Crystal Springs Road is not in the 26th District, most assuredly Lakewood is not.

Must be nice to have money to burn.

After the Daily Herald caught 26th state senate district Democratic Party candidate Bill Gentes saying that he was on a leave of absence when he had been fired, the Daily Herald ran a story.

This is the first time I remember the Northwest Herald’s citing a Daily Herald story as the source of an article.

To do that means it is an important development in the 26th district contest with Dan Duffy.

Actually, the NW Herald article is mild compared to Round Lake School Board member and former Illinois Libertarian Party State Chairman W. Guy Finley’s “Stay the Course” blog story.

On its front page is a photo of mine from which Finley has extracted just Gentes’ eyes and nose.

The scathing headline is indicative of the story’s content:

Finley talks about “Lying eyes,” going on to describe a developer impact disagreement that the school board had with the Round Lake Mayor about development impact fees.

Before the meeting, Finley said he had a lot of respect for the mayor.

But not afterward.

Here’s what Finley wrote,

“…he demanded RLAS (Round Lake Area Schools) come to an agreement with a developer to lower our impact fees or he would dictate to us what we would get.

“We had researched our impact fees before adopting them and they were in line with other school districts.

“But because the developer had been quoted fees from several years ago and had already negotiated impact fees with other entities they were unwilling to give RLAS what we wanted.

“Here I thought Bill would step in on our behalf, we’re under state oversight after all and we’re talking about critical funds to help provide infrastructure for the additional kids we would take on, and he was telling me our fees were way out of line.

“He then accused me of threatening him when I said I would take my case to the village trustees and said,

‘Do you know who runs the village, Guy?’

“I hesitated and replied,

‘The board of trustees.’

“Bill leaned forward in his chair towards me at that point and said,

‘No, Guy, the mayor does’

as he pointed a finger into his chest looking dead at me.

“In a matter of a few moments my opinion had totally changed and it was clear to me that Bill was not the person I thought he was.

“So this latest admission on his part comes as no surprise to me.”

Compared to this, the NW Herald article is mild.

After the Daily Herald caught 26th state senate district Democratic Party candidate Bill Gentes saying that he was on a leave of absence when he had been fired, the Daily Herald ran a story.

This is the first time I remember the Northwest Herald’s citing a Daily Herald story as the source of an article.

To do that means it is an important development in the 26th district contest with Dan Duffy.

Actually, the NW Herald article is mild compared to Round Lake School Board member and former Illinois Libertarian Party State Chairman W. Guy Finley’s “Stay the Course” blog story.

On its front page is a photo of mine from which Finley has extracted just Gentes’ eyes and nose.

The scathing headline is indicative of the story’s content:

Finley talks about “Lying eyes,” going on to describe a developer impact disagreement that the school board had with the Round Lake Mayor about development impact fees.

Before the meeting, Finley said he had a lot of respect for the mayor.

But not afterward.

Here’s what Finley wrote,

“…he demanded RLAS (Round Lake Area Schools) come to an agreement with a developer to lower our impact fees or he would dictate to us what we would get.

“We had researched our impact fees before adopting them and they were in line with other school districts.

“But because the developer had been quoted fees from several years ago and had already negotiated impact fees with other entities they were unwilling to give RLAS what we wanted.

“Here I thought Bill would step in on our behalf, we’re under state oversight after all and we’re talking about critical funds to help provide infrastructure for the additional kids we would take on, and he was telling me our fees were way out of line.

“He then accused me of threatening him when I said I would take my case to the village trustees and said,

‘Do you know who runs the village, Guy?’

“I hesitated and replied,

‘The board of trustees.’

“Bill leaned forward in his chair towards me at that point and said,

‘No, Guy, the mayor does’

as he pointed a finger into his chest looking dead at me.

“In a matter of a few moments my opinion had totally changed and it was clear to me that Bill was not the person I thought he was.

“So this latest admission on his part comes as no surprise to me.”

Compared to this, the NW Herald article is mild.

I missed this when it happened in mid-September.

It’s not in McHenry County, but it’s close to the McHenry-Lake County border, so I thought you might be interested.

144 illegal aliens were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Chicago metropolitan area, defined broadly enough to include Northwestern Indiana. You can read the full release here.

The closest arrests were in Round Lake.

The only raid I remember in McHenry County was at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.

We learned of it when a father walked into our legislative office on Manor Road behind the Shell Station on Route 14 with his infant and at least one other pre-school child. He had no idea how to cope. He had been told his wife was already on a bus to Mexico.

Separating a mother from her baby struck me as mighty poor public policy then and still does.

Fortunately my legislative assistant Pete Castillo was there to console and try to help him.

The raid apparently resulted from new management coming in who apparently called the federalies.

They threw a “Worker Appreciation Day” on a Saturday or Sunday, when most were not working.

As my legislative assistant Pete remembers the details,

“…quite a few who had arrived at that point when Holiday Inn was going to have to pay them severance and retirement benefits. (They) decided to give them the ‘cuffed behind your back, Greyhound Cruiser tour’ back to their homeland at the tax-payers expense. It was blatant corporate greed and nothing else.”

About the man I remember seeing with his children, Pete says,

“The man who came in had, if I am not mistaken, 5 children. When he came to the office he brought 3 youngsters. We helped him reunite his children with his wife who was taken in the raid. We set-up an escort (to Mexico) for him as well as for at least 3 other families. We had already helped this man relocate his wife’s stolen SS checks earlier in the year. We made a Mexican grocery store owner in C-Ville repay the stolen money.”

I then asked Pete about why she was receiving Social Security checks. His reply:

“I am not privy to that. All I know is that the checks were stolen from her mailbox by someone that was connected to the grocery store owner in C-ville. I checked with the SS guy you knew in Woodstock. I don’t remember his name. They were legitimate. She was entitled to receive them. It could have been that she was married before to an American. What do I know? I collected all the money that was stolen. I brought the statute which the store owner violated to C-ville and I promised him 10-years for each offense. He paid!”

From this description of what my legislative assistant did, all that comes to mind is he one amazing, not to mention effective, guy!

As someone has said, “The perception of power is power.”

I missed this when it happened in mid-September.

It’s not in McHenry County, but it’s close to the McHenry-Lake County border, so I thought you might be interested.

144 illegal aliens were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Chicago metropolitan area, defined broadly enough to include Northwestern Indiana. You can read the full release here.

The closest arrests were in Round Lake.

The only raid I remember in McHenry County was at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.

We learned of it when a father walked into our legislative office on Manor Road behind the Shell Station on Route 14 with his infant and at least one other pre-school child. He had no idea how to cope. He had been told his wife was already on a bus to Mexico.

Separating a mother from her baby struck me as mighty poor public policy then and still does.

Fortunately my legislative assistant Pete Castillo was there to console and try to help him.

The raid apparently resulted from new management coming in who apparently called the federalies.

They threw a “Worker Appreciation Day” on a Saturday or Sunday, when most were not working.

As my legislative assistant Pete remembers the details,

“…quite a few who had arrived at that point when Holiday Inn was going to have to pay them severance and retirement benefits. (They) decided to give them the ‘cuffed behind your back, Greyhound Cruiser tour’ back to their homeland at the tax-payers expense. It was blatant corporate greed and nothing else.”

About the man I remember seeing with his children, Pete says,

“The man who came in had, if I am not mistaken, 5 children. When he came to the office he brought 3 youngsters. We helped him reunite his children with his wife who was taken in the raid. We set-up an escort (to Mexico) for him as well as for at least 3 other families. We had already helped this man relocate his wife’s stolen SS checks earlier in the year. We made a Mexican grocery store owner in C-Ville repay the stolen money.”

I then asked Pete about why she was receiving Social Security checks. His reply:

“I am not privy to that. All I know is that the checks were stolen from her mailbox by someone that was connected to the grocery store owner in C-ville. I checked with the SS guy you knew in Woodstock. I don’t remember his name. They were legitimate. She was entitled to receive them. It could have been that she was married before to an American. What do I know? I collected all the money that was stolen. I brought the statute which the store owner violated to C-ville and I promised him 10-years for each offense. He paid!”

From this description of what my legislative assistant did, all that comes to mind is he one amazing, not to mention effective, guy!

As someone has said, “The perception of power is power.”

During the 2006 election, Democrats in Hoffman Estates adopted a strategy of backing a candidate attractive to those who speak Spanish. Combined with the fervent opposition to long-term incumbent State Rep. Terry Parke by abortion supporters, Parke lost his office.

Now, Bill Gentes, a Democratic Party candidate who is fluent in Spanish by reason of having spent 8 years in Mexico, has announced his candidacy for the state senate that State Senator Bill Peterson (R-Long Grove).

The district comes into McHenry County north of Crystal Lake and has much of McHenry in it.

The challenger to Parke was a Republican village trustee in Hoffman Estates before he was recruited by the Democrats.

Gentes is the two-term mayor of Round lake, which the press release below points out is “one of the fastest growing…communities in Illinois.”

The issues he has staked out are transportation, jobs, real estate tax relief and education reform.

The mayor is a real estate agent now and has a blog.

His press release follows:

Bill Gentes Announces his Candidacy for the Illinois State Senate District 26 as a Democrat

Round Lake, IL— Bill Gentes announced his run for the 26th district of the Illinois Senate today. Mr. Gentes is the two term Mayor of Round Lake Illinois, one of the fastest growing and most progressive communities in the state. “The district has experienced many changes and those changes have not been reflected downstate. I am excited
to have the opportunity to affect change and improvement, said Bill Gentes. “My major priorities for the 26th district are transportation improvement, jobs, property tax relief and education reform. I have taken leadership positions on job growth, transportation reform and healthcare in my time as Mayor of Round Lake.

Mr. Gentes has been a leader in interactive communication with his residents by his use of his blog. “I aim to bring a much greater level of communication to the residents of the 26th Senate District with a daily blog’ ability to keep in touch with residents of the district.”

He is the Chairman of the 120 Corridor Planning Council, a member of the Executive Committee of the Lake County Transportation Alliance and serves on the Board of Governors of Lake County Partners, the Economic Development arm of Lake County.
Bill is serving his second term as Mayor of Round Lake, Illinois. Round Lake, one of the fastest growing communities in the state of Illinois has tripled in size in the last six years. His experience in this progressive, growing community translate well to the challenges faced by the 26th District.

Prior to his election as Mayor, Bill served three terms as Trustee for the Round Lake Area Library district and was Chairman of the Round Lake Planning and Zoning Commission for five years. In addition Bill has spoken at national conferences on blogging and transportation issues.

Bill has been a senior executive and CEO in the non-profit industry for over 20 years, specializing in international associations. Currently Mr. Gentes is a licensed realtor in Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Texas—Pan American, where he graduated with a major in History and a minor English Literature.

Bill was born in New York, but grew up in Guadalajara Mexico and attended Mexican schools for 8 years where he became fluent in Spanish. He is married and has a 17 year old daughter.

= = = = =

Photograph of Bill Gentes provided by the candidate, as is the map of the district. The map can be enlarged by clicking on it.

During the 2006 election, Democrats in Hoffman Estates adopted a strategy of backing a candidate attractive to those who speak Spanish. Combined with the fervent opposition to long-term incumbent State Rep. Terry Parke by abortion supporters, Parke lost his office.

Now, Bill Gentes, a Democratic Party candidate who is fluent in Spanish by reason of having spent 8 years in Mexico, has announced his candidacy for the state senate that State Senator Bill Peterson (R-Long Grove).

The district comes into McHenry County north of Crystal Lake and has much of McHenry in it.

The challenger to Parke was a Republican village trustee in Hoffman Estates before he was recruited by the Democrats.

Gentes is the two-term mayor of Round lake, which the press release below points out is “one of the fastest growing…communities in Illinois.”

The issues he has staked out are transportation, jobs, real estate tax relief and education reform.

The mayor is a real estate agent now and has a blog.

His press release follows:

Bill Gentes Announces his Candidacy for the Illinois State Senate District 26 as a Democrat

Round Lake, IL— Bill Gentes announced his run for the 26th district of the Illinois Senate today. Mr. Gentes is the two term Mayor of Round Lake Illinois, one of the fastest growing and most progressive communities in the state. “The district has experienced many changes and those changes have not been reflected downstate. I am excited
to have the opportunity to affect change and improvement, said Bill Gentes. “My major priorities for the 26th district are transportation improvement, jobs, property tax relief and education reform. I have taken leadership positions on job growth, transportation reform and healthcare in my time as Mayor of Round Lake.

Mr. Gentes has been a leader in interactive communication with his residents by his use of his blog. “I aim to bring a much greater level of communication to the residents of the 26th Senate District with a daily blog’ ability to keep in touch with residents of the district.”

He is the Chairman of the 120 Corridor Planning Council, a member of the Executive Committee of the Lake County Transportation Alliance and serves on the Board of Governors of Lake County Partners, the Economic Development arm of Lake County.
Bill is serving his second term as Mayor of Round Lake, Illinois. Round Lake, one of the fastest growing communities in the state of Illinois has tripled in size in the last six years. His experience in this progressive, growing community translate well to the challenges faced by the 26th District.

Prior to his election as Mayor, Bill served three terms as Trustee for the Round Lake Area Library district and was Chairman of the Round Lake Planning and Zoning Commission for five years. In addition Bill has spoken at national conferences on blogging and transportation issues.

Bill has been a senior executive and CEO in the non-profit industry for over 20 years, specializing in international associations. Currently Mr. Gentes is a licensed realtor in Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Texas—Pan American, where he graduated with a major in History and a minor English Literature.

Bill was born in New York, but grew up in Guadalajara Mexico and attended Mexican schools for 8 years where he became fluent in Spanish. He is married and has a 17 year old daughter.

= = = = =

Photograph of Bill Gentes provided by the candidate, as is the map of the district. The map can be enlarged by clicking on it.