Cops: Success Story A Scam

[iggs111]

Sad to say as Rod is one of my family members, the feds raided his home last night you should have seen they had all these things numbered, the plasmas, his suits, everything, Such a shame. Weird thing is I met this Terry guy about a month ago, I had no clue what was going on. Most will prolly say good my cousin deserves it but keep my family in your thoughts this is a tough time as he will be going away for a while.

Maybe Terry Faulkner should have settled for an old Honda.
Instead, he cruised the Far South Side in a $165,000 Bentley Continental last spring, catching the eye of cops staking out a Gangster Disciples drug operation, authorities say.

The cops dug into Faulkner's business dealings -- while his neighbors in south suburban Tinley Park tried to tune out the foul-mouthed basketball games on the driveway of his home, which was valued at about $600,000.

On Tuesday, his neighbors sighed with relief as Faulkner, 40, was led away in handcuffs, accused of ripping off people in mortgage-fraud schemes. Rodrigo Navascues, 32, a mortgage broker with Hammer Financial, also was arrested, police said.

Police seized a Bentley Continental, a BMW 645 and this Maybach in a raid on Terry Faulkner’s home Tuesday.
(John H. White/Sun-Times)
Both were charged with organizing a continuing financial crimes enterprise, which carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years. Cook County prosecutors said they also plan to charge the men with money laundering, and Faulkner with tax evasion. Other arrests are expected.
Police drove off with Faulkner's Bentley, a luxury Maybach sedan, a BMW 645 convertible and a Chevy conversion van and will move to seize his home, too. Police seized two of Navascues' properties in Chicago.

"They can't hide what they drive, where they live and what they spend," Chicago Police Sgt. Kenneth Boudreau said.


Tax evasion alleged
Cops also raided the offices of URB Inc. in Lincolnwood and Paul A. Demos & Co. appraisers in Palos Heights. The companies could not be reached for comment.
The investigation found Faulkner raked in $2.5 million over the last 2½ years but did not file income tax returns in 2004 and 2005, Boudreau said.

So far, police and Cook County prosecutors have identified five victims duped in a dozen fraudulent property deals, Boudreau said. Police plan to sort through hundreds of other deals after seizing boxes of financial records Tuesday, he said.

Faulkner and Navascues were the first suspects arrested in a new police strategy to hammer white-collar criminals with state tax evasion and money-laundering laws. "We're going to do one of these a month," Boudreau said.

Surveillance captured Faulkner meeting with members of the Gangster Disciples in May during a drug investigation in the Roseland and West Pullman neighborhoods on the Far South Side, police said.

Police learned Faulkner frequently advertised as an agent with URB, a real estate company. In one newspaper ad bearing his photo, Faulkner says, "In the past two years I've worked on 20 URB buildings and have made $20,000 to $50,000 on each one."

"He became a success story for URB," Boudreau said. "He used his high-line cars and address to show he was a successful businessman."

Six months ago, police launched Operation Unreliable Rehab, a play on the name of Faulkner's business, Reliable Rehab, which Police Supt. Phil Cline described as a "bogus construction company."

Faulkner and Navascues preyed on gullible buyers interested in becoming investors with no down payments, Cline said. They inflated their victims' incomes and savings to obtain loans for the properties, whose values they inflated, Cline said.

Then they arranged for a fake lawyer to handle the closings, Cline said. They would allegedly skim the excess value of the property for themselves, leaving the buyers with overpriced homes. The buyers usually lost the homes in foreclosure.


Neighbors relieved at arrest
"The mortgage company loses hundreds of thousands of dollars, the buyer's credit is destroyed and the schemers all profit," Cline said.
Neighbors of Faulkner were happy to see him go.

Arthur Harris, a retired Chicago Police detective, said Faulkner's cars were far more valuable than what other residents keep in their garages. "He didn't fit in," Harris said.

Jim DeMarie, a volunteer firefighter and insurance agent, said Faulkner was always friendly. DeMarie said he helped his neighbor with his sprinkler system and other mechanical problems.

But "his buddies would play basketball and there was a lot of vulgarity," DeMarie said. "You'd think you were in the city."

He said Faulkner once offered to buy DeMarie's prized Orange County Choppers custom motorcycle and his Corvette, but DeMarie declined. DeMarie said his son, a college student, is interested in real estate and was impressed by Faulkner's high-priced toys. "I told my son it's not that easy," said DeMarie's wife, Noreen. "It turned out I was right."

[skippy]

Actually, he was very SUCCESSFUL at what he did.

Though what he did may be unlawful.

[iggs111]

Originally Posted by skippy

Actually, he was very SUCCESSFUL at what he did.

Though what he did may be unlawful.

thanks for clearing that up skippy.