Accountant Stole Over $55 Million From Winnetka Family: Feds

CHICAGO — An accountant was charged Tuesday with defrauding a Winnetka family out of tens of millions of dollars for personal use.

Sultan Issa, 45, of Hinsdale, is accused of embezzling more than $55 million from former bank CEO Roger Weston over a 10-year period while acting as his personal financial adviser.

In charging documents filed Tuesday, federal prosecutors said Issa used the proceeds from his fraud to secure at least $83 million in loans from financial institutions and spent lavishly on personal expenses.

Issa bought two private aircraft, four yachts, 25 houses, about 60 firearms and an unspecified quantity of watches, jewelry and memorabilia, according to charges filed in federal court in Chicago.

The accountant would claim he was investing the family's money in legitimate opportunities, such as an auto dealership Issa owned in Burr Ridge, prosecutors said. Issa spent $15 million in fraudulently obtained funds to build the businesses show room, buy luxury cars and pay employees, according to the charges.

Weston, a Winnetka resident, and his Chicago-based family foundation are identified as Issa's victims in separate legal proceedings.

As part of his scheme, Issa faked loan documentation and forged authorization to access the family's funds, prosecutors said. He is accused of creating phony account statements and making "Ponzi-type payments" to investors.

Weston filed civil lawsuits in Cook County against Issa last year, the Chicago Tribune reported. One asked for $100 million, while another claimed that Issa had forged Weston's name to gain a $5 million loan using 70 pieces of "museum-quality antique Chinese lacquerware, ceramics and silver and bronze objects" from Weston's art collection as collateral, Crain's Chicago Business reported.

In 2007, Weston sold Lisle-based GreatBanc to Charter One for $180 million and established the Weston Foundation in 2007, according to Crain's. He became a life trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 and has donated many pieces of his extensive art collection to the museum, which has included since 2010 the Roger L. and Pamela Weston Wing and Japanese Art Galleries.

Issa has been charged with one count of wire fraud. If convicted he faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. In a pair of judgments entered last year in civil cases, Issa has already been ordered to pay $6 million, according to the Tribune. His arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.