Jury Convicts Second Landlord in Beverly Squatter Scheme

CHICAGO, IL -- A second man who was part of a ring to that rented out foreclosed properties that he didn’t own was found guilty by a jury, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office announced.

Torrez Moore, 57, was convicted of Class X theft and financial institution fraud charges, and continuing a financial crimes enterprise. Moore was charged along with three other men in 2015. David Farr, also known as Fahim Ali, and Raymond Tribble. A jury convicted Farr of similar felony crimes last month.

Prosecutors said that Moore colluded with the other men in unlawfully claiming at least a dozen foreclosed or vacant properties as their own in the Beverly and Morgan Park area. Moore and his associates would allegedly move into the property themselves, or rented the home to tenants and acted as a landlord.

Moore also unlawfully entered the homes, changed the locks, and then filed fraudulent documents with with Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office, to verify ownership of the property, according to the charges.

Prosecutors said that most of the renters or squatters were aware they were occupying the properties unlawfully, but refused to leave even when ordered by police, at the advice of defendants. The properties were often in disrepair. Realtors were afraid to enter the properties because the defendants had allegedly posted “No Trespassing” signs on the exterior of the homes.

Moore and the other men reportedly identified themselves as “Moors,” a segment of an anti-government group known as Sovereigns or Sovereign Citizens, prosecutors said. Members do not recognize the government as having jurisdiction over them, nor do they recognize the authority of most law enforcement agencies.

Farr is awaiting sentencing. Tribble’s case remains pending.