Accountant Pleads Guilty To Fraud For Embezzling Over $65 Million

CHICAGO — A west suburban accountant admitted to swindling a Winnetka family out of tens of millions of dollars as part of a decade-long embezzlement scheme. He forged signatures, faked loan applications and made "Ponzi-type" payments to keep the fraud afloat, funding an extravagant lifestyle that featured the acquisitions of multiple private aircraft, yachts and more than two dozen homes, according to his plea agreement.

Sultan Issa, 46, of Hinsdale, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to one count of wire fraud, according to court records. Prosecutors last year accused him of misappropriating at least $55 million from the family of an Art Institute of Chicago trustee and Winnetka resident and soliciting millions more from others between 2007 and 2017. According to his plea, prosecutors are still determining the total financial loss from Issa's trail of forgeries and frauds, which is estimated at between $65 and $150 million.

Issa used the misappropriated funds to purchase or finance "at least 25 residential properties in Illinois, Montana, Michigan, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; two private aircraft; four motor yachts; approximately 60 firearms; and assorted watches, jewelry and memorabilia," according to the agreement he signed Jan. 10.

"I just basically lied to a lot of people," Issa told U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood at a Jan. 17 court appearance when asked to say what he did wrong in his own words, according to The Associated Press. Issa told the judge he is currently seeing a psychologist and taking prescription medication to treat anxiety and depression.

Earlier: Feds Say Accountant Stole Over $55 Million From Winnetka Family

Issa used more than $15 million in fraudulent obtained cash to pay for expenses related to his defunct used car dealership in Burr Ridge, Global Luxury Imports, his plea said. According to a 2015 promotional profile, the business' clientele has included a handful of current and former Chicago Blackhawks players.

While the criminal plea agreement does not name the family office Issa admitted to defrauding, state and federal civil court records identify Roger Weston, of Winnetka, as Issa's victim. Weston, a retired bank CEO and philanthropist, sued Issa in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging in 2018 his family accountant had stolen millions.

In 2006, Weston sold the Lisle-based bank where he had been CEO, GreatBanc, to Charter One for $180 million and established the Weston Foundation the following year, according to Crain's Chicago Business. He became a life trustee at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. The Roger L. and Pamela Weston Wing and Japanese Art Galleries, opened in 2010, contains some of the many pieces of art he has donated to the museum.

In a motion to dismiss a separate 2018 federal lawsuit involving a $5 million loan — borrowed using millions of dollars worth of the Westons' collection museum-quality antique Chinese lacquerware produced from the 10th to the 18th centuries as collateral — Mr. Weston's attorneys said he learned in the fall of 2017 his signature had been faked on the loan documents in one of his accountant's "serial forgeries."

At the time the wire fraud charge was announced, prosecutors said Issa solicited at least $8.8 million from individual investors. According to his guilty plea, that included $500,000 Issa obtained from a widow who trusted him to invest money from her late husband's estate, knowing she was "unusually vulnerable," which increases the offense level in federal sentencing guidelines.

Issa remains free on pretrial release ahead of sentencing. He and his defense attorney declined to comment as they left court last week, the AP reported. Prosecutors have until May 7 to file their sentencing memo and Issa's attorney has until May 14 to respond ahead of a sentencing hearing set for May 21, according to court records.

Federal sentencing guidelines outlined in Issa's plea agreement advise a recommended sentence of between 20 and 25 years. As judge, Wood is not bound by the guidelines, though she cannot sentence Issa to more than the maximum of 30 years.