Guilty plea in mortgage scam
February 13, 2007
BY MARY WISNIEWSKI Business Reporter
Mohammad "Mike" Taghie Kakvand, the ringleader in a mortgage scheme that resulted in abandoned Chicago apartment buildings, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday.
Kakvand bought 33 apartment buildings in Rogers Park and on Chicago's South Side, but didn't renovate them, according to the indictment. Units were sold as rehabbed condos at inflated prices, using straw buyers who defaulted on $29 million in loans. The plot displaced renters and left decaying, crime-plagued buildings, according to community leaders.
"There is no punishment too severe for Michael Kakvand," said Ald. Joe A. Moore (49th). "He preyed on our neighborhood, he took advantage of people, and the damage he did took years to unravel."
3 comments:
i'm sure the alderman got or was at least promised his share and did not monitor the operation too much.
OK, if we have achived 70% homeownership rates that means that only 30% of the population is potentially in the market to buy.
one could say, with the lax lending standards and gov't programes, that everyone who could buy has bought. now take a moment to consider 5 people you know who are not homeowners and evaluate their potential (credit & down payment) given tightened lending standards. i end up with 2 still eligeable. now add to the mix that many of the 70% owned multiple properties. motivated sellers are in for a wake up.....the market is over priced and over bought.
What sentence did Mike Kakvand got?
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