From the U.S. Attorney:
CHICAGO BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR DEFRAUDING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS OUT OF MORE THAN $3 MILLION
CHICAGO — A Chicago businessman has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for scheming to defraud multiple financial institutions out of more than $3 million.
DAVID IZSAK, 50, of Chicago, was a licensed real estate professional and the sole proprietor of Skokie, Ill.-based Premier Assets Inc. and Premier Properties Enterprises, Inc.
From 2005 to 2018, Izsak engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions by obtaining residential loans through false statements, concealing the existence of unpaid loans, and falsely obtaining credit.
As part of the scheme, Izsak submitted or caused to be submitted to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds fictitious lien releases that purported to be from lenders stating the loans were paid in full.
The bogus lien releases included false names of attorneys and bank employees.
In one instance, after causing a lien to be released, Izsak sold the property to an unsuspecting buyer.
In another instance, he obtained six mortgages on a single property, obtaining a new loan after fictitiously releasing the prior loan without repaying it.
Izsak also obtained a loan to buy a 57-foot yacht known as the “Flying Lady” by submitting fraudulent tax returns and financial information to the lender.
The yacht was seized by federal authorities in 2019.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2023 convicted Izsak on ten counts of financial institution fraud. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah imposed the prison sentence on Tuesday during a hearing in federal court.
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 FBI Chicago Field Office, and Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“Izsak engaged in blatantly fraudulent conduct for many years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Moheb argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The entire purpose of the scheme was to line his own pockets, so that he could live a lifestyle he didn’t earn.”
Two other individuals – YALE SCHIFF, of Riverwoods, Ill., and his brother, JASON SCHIFF, of Lincolnwood, Ill. – were also convicted as part of the federal investigation. Yale Schiff was sentenced in January to three years in prison for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in mortgage and vehicle loans and using stolen identities to secure credit from financial institutions. 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.
