57-Foot Yacht Seized In FBI Probe Of Bank Fraud In North Suburbs

CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors announced indictments of a Lincolnwood man and a Skokie native as part of an probe into bank fraud and identity theft involving millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained mortgage loans.

Jason Schiff, 40, of the 4600 block of West Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood, was charged with three counts of bank fraud, while his brother, 44-year-old Yale Schiff, formerly of the 2400 block of Forest Glen Trail in Riverwoods, faces 12 counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to a superseding indictment returned July 24 in Chicago. Both brothers have pleaded not guilty.

David Izsak, 44, of the 1600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, operates the firm Premier Assets, Inc., which lists its headquarters as 8820 North Skokie Boulevard in Skokie. He was charged with 11 counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He has also pleaded not guilty and has been released on bond ahead of his trial.

Federal investigators obtained a court order to seize Izsak's 57-foot Carver 570 Voyager yacht called the "Flying Lady" ahead of the indictment. Izsak borrowed about $360,000 of the $450,000 he paid for the boat in April 2011 by submitting falsified loan application information, according to the indictment. The indictment called for Izsak to be ordered to forfeit a $4 million judgement, about $101,000 seized from a Premier Assets account in February 2017 and the boat should he be convicted of fraud.

The scheme described by the feds involved submitting phony correspondence with financial institutions to release property liens so Izsak and the Schiffs could use that property as collateral to take out more loans without ever really paying back the original loans. They also used fake and modified identities, including one that included Izsak's same but a different birthday and social security number.

Prosecutors first announced charges against Yale Schiff in June, alleging that he used various fake and stolen identities to fraudulently take out loans on cars and real estate, including his north suburban home and several residential properties on Chicago's Near West Side.

In his initial indictment, the FBI disclosed it believed three of Schiff's relatives and a business associate helped him out in the scheme. It sought Yale Schiff's Riverwoods property and the forfeiture of about $4.7 million.

According to the Schiff brothers' superseding indictment, Jason Schiff's fraud arose from a loan secured by a condo at 910 W. Madison St. that he bought from his brother, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans for a various vehicles, including a Porche, BMW, Lexus, Land Rover and more. Other multi-unit residential buildings used for the fraud, which involved home equity lines of credit, included 1000 W. Adams St. and 2057 W. Ohio St.

Izsak declared bankruptcy at age 22, according to the Chicago Tribune. Eight years later, he earned a real estate license, which was revoked in 2015 after he "filed falsified documents with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, thus enabling him to fraudulently and continually obtain new mortgages from various financial institutions," according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

According to his indictment, he falsified the paperwork for loans connected to properties at 2046 W. Race St. and 2158 Grand Ave. in Chicago, in addition to the pleasure craft.

Izsak's attorney, Megan Cuniff Church, failed to convince a judge to order the release of the boat, which included a pink stripper pole, the Chicago Tribune reported. Church argued the indictment only alleged that the loan obtained to purchase the boat was fraudulently obtained, rather than anything that happened on the vessel itself. The Tribune reported FBI seized the boat, its contents and a bank account in the name of the Skokie-based business about 18 months prior to Izsak's indictment.

The FBI alleged that Izsak used the identity of his 75-year-old mother to obtain a loan for nearly $50,000 to buy a Jeep Wrangler, which was supposed to have been owned by his Skokie company, Premier Assets, according to the Tribune. Izsak, who had been given power of attorney, falsified paperwork claiming his mother was making $150,000 a year working for Skokie's village government when, in fact, she was living in a memory care facility, the feds said.

A federal conviction for aggravated identity theft includes a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. Each count of bank fraud can be punished by a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. Pretrial motions in the case are due by September, according to court records.

Earlier: Riverwoods Mortgage Fraudster Made Millions With Fake IDs: Feds