From the U.S. Attorney:
Suburban Chicago Businessman Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in mortgage and vehicle loans and using stolen identities to secure credit from financial institutions.
YALE SCHIFF fraudulently obtained
- mortgage loans,
- vehicle loans,
- lines of credit, and
- credit cards
by making false statements to financial institutions regarding his employment, income, and encumbrances on the collateral he pledged for the loans.
After obtaining the loans, Schiff filed false documents with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, causing the fraudulent release of the liens.
Schiff then pocketed the loan proceeds, causing losses to the lenders.
Schiff used the same mortgaged properties for multiple loans, each time fraudulently removing the lien and keeping the proceeds.
Schiff used various false and stolen identities to carry out his fraud scheme.
Schiff bought vehicles under the false identities and fraudulently removed liens on the cars before selling them for a profit.
He also opened bank accounts and lines of credit using the false identities and other aliases, funding the accounts with advances from other fraudulently obtained lines of credit and credit cards.
In one instance, Schiff used a credit card issued in the name of an elderly woman whom he knew was in a memory care facility at the time, and in another instance he used a credit card issued in the name of a friend who had passed away.
Schiff, 50, of Riverwoods, Ill., pleaded guilty in 2023 to a federal bank fraud charge. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland on Jan. 16, 2025, ordered Schiff to pay $2,955,954 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“Defendant, over the course of at least 13 years, engaged in a calculated, sustained, prolonged, multi-faceted scheme to defraud multiple financial institutions, individual buyers of property, and individuals whose identity he used,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri H. Mecklenburg argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Defendant’s conduct was prolonged, willful, and widespread.”
Schiff’s brother, JASON SCHIFF, of Lincolnwood, Ill., and a business associate, DAVID IZSAK, of Chicago, were also charged as part of the federal investigation.
Jason Schiff pleaded guilty to causing a false report and statement to be made to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Jason Schiff was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $306,610 in restitution.
A jury convicted Izsak on ten counts of financial institution fraud. Izsak is awaiting sentencing.
