A Chicago businessman, David Izsak, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for defrauding financial institutions of more than $3 million. Izsak, aged 50, was a licensed real estate professional and operated Premier Assets Inc. and Premier Properties Enterprises, Inc. based in Skokie, Illinois.
From 2005 to 2018, Izsak engaged in fraudulent activities to obtain residential loans through false statements, conceal outstanding loans, and acquire credit illegitimately. He submitted false lien releases to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, including fictitious attorney and bank employee names. One fraudulent act involved selling a lien-released property to an unsuspecting buyer, while another included securing six mortgages on a single property sequentially without repaying the previous loans.
Izsak also obtained a loan for a 57-foot yacht named "Flying Lady" by submitting forged tax returns and financial documents. The yacht was confiscated by federal agents in 2019.
In 2023, Izsak was convicted on ten counts of financial institution fraud by a jury in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah delivered the sentence in federal court.
Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, and Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Moheb stated, "Izsak engaged in blatantly fraudulent conduct for many years. The entire purpose of the scheme was to line his own pockets, so that he could live a lifestyle he didn’t earn."
Two additional individuals, Yale Schiff and Jason Schiff, also faced convictions as part of the federal investigation. Yale Schiff received a three-year prison sentence in January for fraudulently obtaining millions in mortgage and vehicle loans, using stolen identities. Jason Schiff was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.