CHICAGO (CBS) — Mark Diamond, a man who pleaded guilty to scamming elderly homeowners on the South and West sides of Chicago in a reverse mortgage scheme, was sentenced to 205 months (or 17 years and one month) in prison on Thursday. Diamond was also ordered to pay $2.7 million in restitution to the victims of his fraud.
Diamond admitted to tricking homeowners into unwittingly taking out reverse mortgage loans under the guise of paying for home repairs he never intended to perform. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Diamond and his co-conspirators targeted elderly individuals, selecting them based on their lack of financial understanding and the equity in their homes.
He falsely informed the victims that they were signing documents related to home repairs, when in fact, they were unknowingly agreeing to reverse mortgage loans. Prosecutors revealed that at least 122 victims were targeted, losing about $10 million in home equity as a result.
One of the victims, Effie Herron, suffered from dementia and was approached by Diamond to arrange home repairs. She was misled into signing a reverse mortgage document, and after her death, her daughter Barbara began receiving notices about a $180,000 debt owed to Diamond’s business, Reverse Mortgage Solutions.
Another victim, Gloria Muldrow, shared her experience of how her late mother, Lillie Williams, was tricked by Diamond. At 89 years old, Lillie Williams was persuaded to sign a reverse mortgage loan for $110,000, which Diamond allegedly took, putting their home at risk before federal authorities intervened.
As early as 2003, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had banned Diamond from conducting loan closings in the state due to previous fraudulent activity.
Diamond, 68, pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama imposed the sentence, bringing justice to the victims who were exploited by Diamond’s fraudulent scheme.
