Thursday, September 11, 2008
Federal Criminal Complant Against Charles H. Landwer, Jr.
STATE OF ILLINOIS }
}
COUNTY OF COOK }
I, Vick Lombardo, being duly sworn on oath, depose and state as follows:
1. I have been employed as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”) for approximately ten years. In connection with my official duties as a Special Agent with the FBI, I investigate criminal violations of federal bank and wire fraud statutes, including but not limited to, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1344. I have initiated and participated in criminal investigations involving the execution of search warrants, the review of subpoenaed financial and real estate documents, physical surveillance, arrests, and convictions. Based on my training, experience, and participation in these types of investigations, I am familiar with the techniques used by persons engaged in such unlawful activities.
2. This affidavit is submitted in support of a criminal complaint and application for warrant to arrest CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR. (“LANDWER”) for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of obtaining a federal arrest warrant, I have not included each and every fact known to me concerning this investigation. I have set forth only the facts that I believe are necessary to obtain an arrest warrant.
3. The information contained in this affidavit is based on my personal knowledge and observations accumulated during the course of this investigation, including my review of records and documents, my training and experience, and information conveyed to me by witnesses and other law enforcement personnel. This affidavit does not include every fact observed or known by me or other law enforcement officers.
4. In addition, this affidavit incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, all of the information provided in the affidavit previously filed in support of an application for the issuance of a warrant to search the premises located at 1225 Oak Hill Road, Unit A, Lake Barrington Shores, Illinois 60010 (the “Search Warrant Affidavit”), which is attached to this affidavit at Tab 1.
5. As set forth in more detail below and as previously described in the Search Warrant Affidavit, in connection with this investigation, law enforcement authorities have obtained credible and reliable evidence showing that, since as early as September 2002, CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR., defrauded at least 17 individuals of more than $2,400,000 in personal funds and home sale proceeds by falsely representing that LANDWER was using their funds to settle debt and/or investing their funds in LANDWER’s real estate business and other unspecified investments. In fact, LANDWER never intended to use, nor did he ever use, the victims’ money for investment or settlement of debt as represented, and instead converted the victims’ funds to his own benefit. In doing so, LANDWER knowingly caused writings, signs, or signals to be transmitted by wire or radio communication in interstate commerce.
6. As described in more detail in paragraphs 13 to 29 of the Search Warrant Affidavit, LANDWER defrauded Victims KD and ED by fraudulently transferring ownership interest of their property at 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois, 60560 to himself, without the consent or knowledge of Victims KD and ED, and subsequently securing a mortgage loan against 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois, 60560, to fraudulently obtain $282,522.
7. According to Illinois Secretary of State records and RNB title commitment documents, beginning in about May 2004, Victims KD and ED have owned and resided at 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois. Victims KD and ED attained ownership of the property through a purchase financed with an adjustable rate mortgage held by Chase Home Finance in the amount of $346,500. In about June 2005, after Victims KD and ED fell in arrears on the mortgage loan, and foreclosure proceedings commenced against 1902 Candleberry Lane. According to Victims KD and ED, they were unable to refinance their property because their credit was poor, and a Sheriff’s Sale of their property was scheduled for March 2006.
8. According to Victims KD and ED, in or around February 2006, Victims KD and ED were contacted via flyer mailed to them by LANDWER, whom they did not know. The letterhead was from the Accurate Financial Group, 360-23 W. Schick Rd., Suite 120, Bloomingdale, Illinois, 60108. In the flyer, LANDWER advised,
10. Victims KD and ED received via fax a letter from LANDWER, dated March 3, 2006, on The Accurate Financial Group letterhead, signed by Charles H. Landwer, Jr. In the letter, LANDWER claimed,
12. At LANDWER’s direction, between March 2006 and September 2006, Victims KD and ED made monthly mortgage payments on 1902 Candleberry Lane to Chase Home Finance, pursuant to what LANDWER had told them was a negotiated settlement with their lender, Chase Home Finance.
13. On about May 18, 2006, according to documents from the Wayne Hummer Trust Company, a document granting, “all rights, powers, privileges and beneficial interest in” the trust was transferred to Accurate Financial Group and LANDWER, and allegedly signed by Victims KD and ED. At no time did LANDWER tell Victims KD and ED that LANDWER would become beneficiary of the trust, and at no time did they authorize LANDWER to become beneficiary or to otherwise have control over their property. According to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any documents relating to 1902 Candleberry Lane in May 2006, they have never been to Wayne Hummer Trust Company, they have never met LANDWER in person, and they have never heard of Individual C, the alleged witness to the assignment. Based upon the Kendall County Recorder of Deeds’ filestamp, this alleged assignment was recorded on May 19, 2006, at the Kendall County, Illinois Recorder’s office.
14. Trust documents show that, on or about May 18, 2006, assignment documents purportedly signed by Victims KD and ED, were provided to the Wayne Hummer Trust Company at the request of LANDWER, which provided LANDWER with a beneficiary empowerment with the power of direction over the trust for 1902 Candleberry Lane. The only asset in the trust (SBL-2209) is 1902 Candleberry Lane.
15. According to the owner of RNB Title, on or about November 7, 2006, LANDWER contacted mortgage broker GC Lending for purposes of refinancing the property at 1902 Candleberry Lane. On about November 10, 2006, for purposes of the refinance, 1902 Candleberry Lane was appraised at $405,000. GC Lending obtained financing through American Mortgage Network (“AmNet”). According to RNB Title documents, on or about November 17, 2006, AmNet approved the funding for the refinancing of 1902 Candleberry Lane
16. According to the owner of RNB Title and unbeknownst to Victims KD and ED, on about November 30, 2006, Wayne Hummer Trust Company transferred 1902 Candleberry Lane to LANDWER via quit claim deed.
17. According to RNB Title documents, on or about December 6, 2006, a closing took place at RNB Title, 17W662 Butterfield Road in Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois, for purposes of refinancing the property at 1902 Candleberry Lane. Victims KD and ED were still living at 1902 Candleberry Lane, but they were unaware that a refinance was occurring, and they did not attend the December 6, 2006 closing.
18. RNB Title records indicate that, on about December 6, 2006, at the conclusion of the closing for 1902 Candleberry Lane, AmNet wired $230,522 from a disbursement account in San Diego, California, into the RNB Title account at the Private Bank and Trust Company, and ultimately into the Accurate Financial account (#0250031736) at Hinsdale Bank, an account held in the name of Accurate Financial Group, which account was opened and controlled by LANDWER and for which LANDWER was the sole signator. In addition, according to the owner of RNB Title, an RNB check in the amount of $50,000 was made payable to LANDWER personally. According to the owner of RNB Title, LANDWER requested the separate $50,000 check so he could use it as a down payment in an upcoming property purchase.
19. A review of the $50,000 check reflects that the reverse is endorsed by LANDWER. Beneath LANDWER’s signature is an endorsement stamp for deposit into Ticor Title Insurance Company’s Bank of America account. Ticor Title Insurance Company was the title company at the December 7, 2006 closing to purchase LANDWER’s residence at 1225 Oak Hill Road, Unit A.
20. According to the Hinsdale Bank CEO, on about December 6 or 7, 2006, LANDWER entered Hinsdale Bank and attempted to withdraw $238,000 from the Accurate Financial account in $100 bills. On December 5, 2006, just prior to the December 6, 2006, $230,522 inbound wire from RNB’s bank account #2103252 at the Private Bank of Chicago, the balance in LANDWER’s Hinsdale Bank account was approximately $34,291. According to the Hinsdale Bank CEO, the teller advised LANDWER that the bank did not have sufficient $100 bills to cover such a large withdrawal and, rather, offered LANDWER a $238,000 cashier’s check. LANDWER declined the cashier’s check and insisted to the teller that he needed the funds in cash because he could get an $11,000 discount on an alleged, unspecified asset that he wanted to purchase. The teller informed LANDWER that the cash funds would have to be ordered from the Federal Reserve Bank and that it would take several days.
LANDWER requested the $238,000 cash be ordered, and asked Hinsdale Bank to notify him when the cash funds would be available.
21. On or about December 11, 2006, the owner of RNB Title requested that RNB’s bank, The Private Bank of Chicago, initiate a wire recall request from Hinsdale Bank, to retrieve their dispersed funds ($230,522). The owner of RNB Title made the wire recall request because she believed, due to a series of discussions with her underwriting company, Ticor Title, that the December 6, 2006 closing of 1902 Candleberry Lane was fraudulent. On December 11, 2006, Hinsdale Bank notified law enforcement that it was honoring a request to recall the wire from the Private Bank on behalf of RNB Title for the December 6, 2006, $230,522 wire transfer. Hinsdale Bank advised LANDWER that RNB Title recalled the December 6, 2006 wire into the Accurate Financial account, and the $238,000 cash funds he sought to withdraw from the Hinsdale Bank were no longer available.
22. In a February 20, 2007, letter mailed to Victims KD and ED via the U.S. Postal Service from the law firm of Krentz & Krentz, LANDWER's attorneys, based upon information provided to them by their client, claimed that Victims KD and ED owed Accurate Financial Group $12,812 for unpaid rents for living at 1902 Candleberry Lane, in Yorkville, Illinois. According to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any agreement with LANDWER regarding rent.
23. During a consensually-recorded telephone call on about February 28, 2007, LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that they still were the owners of record of their residence. During this same conversation LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that they still owed LANDWER $50,000.
24. KD and ED received via mail a letter from LANDWER, dated March 20, 2007, on The Accurate Financial Group letterhead, signed by Charles H. Landwer, Jr. In the letter, LANDWER referenced his conversation with Victims KD and ED “last week” and the “need to finalize our agreement regarding your property.” Again, according to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any such agreement with LANDWER. LANDWER stated in the letter,
26. I believe that based on the above information there is probable cause to believe that CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR., committed wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and 2.
FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.
____________________________________
VICK LOMBARDO, Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME
this _____day of September, 2008
________________________________________
MARTIN ASHMAN
United States Magistrate Judge
}
COUNTY OF COOK }
AFFIDAVIT
I, Vick Lombardo, being duly sworn on oath, depose and state as follows:
Preliminary Matters
1. I have been employed as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”) for approximately ten years. In connection with my official duties as a Special Agent with the FBI, I investigate criminal violations of federal bank and wire fraud statutes, including but not limited to, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1344. I have initiated and participated in criminal investigations involving the execution of search warrants, the review of subpoenaed financial and real estate documents, physical surveillance, arrests, and convictions. Based on my training, experience, and participation in these types of investigations, I am familiar with the techniques used by persons engaged in such unlawful activities.
2. This affidavit is submitted in support of a criminal complaint and application for warrant to arrest CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR. (“LANDWER”) for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of obtaining a federal arrest warrant, I have not included each and every fact known to me concerning this investigation. I have set forth only the facts that I believe are necessary to obtain an arrest warrant.
3. The information contained in this affidavit is based on my personal knowledge and observations accumulated during the course of this investigation, including my review of records and documents, my training and experience, and information conveyed to me by witnesses and other law enforcement personnel. This affidavit does not include every fact observed or known by me or other law enforcement officers.
4. In addition, this affidavit incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, all of the information provided in the affidavit previously filed in support of an application for the issuance of a warrant to search the premises located at 1225 Oak Hill Road, Unit A, Lake Barrington Shores, Illinois 60010 (the “Search Warrant Affidavit”), which is attached to this affidavit at Tab 1.
Overview
5. As set forth in more detail below and as previously described in the Search Warrant Affidavit, in connection with this investigation, law enforcement authorities have obtained credible and reliable evidence showing that, since as early as September 2002, CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR., defrauded at least 17 individuals of more than $2,400,000 in personal funds and home sale proceeds by falsely representing that LANDWER was using their funds to settle debt and/or investing their funds in LANDWER’s real estate business and other unspecified investments. In fact, LANDWER never intended to use, nor did he ever use, the victims’ money for investment or settlement of debt as represented, and instead converted the victims’ funds to his own benefit. In doing so, LANDWER knowingly caused writings, signs, or signals to be transmitted by wire or radio communication in interstate commerce.
Victims KD and ED
6. As described in more detail in paragraphs 13 to 29 of the Search Warrant Affidavit, LANDWER defrauded Victims KD and ED by fraudulently transferring ownership interest of their property at 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois, 60560 to himself, without the consent or knowledge of Victims KD and ED, and subsequently securing a mortgage loan against 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois, 60560, to fraudulently obtain $282,522.
7. According to Illinois Secretary of State records and RNB title commitment documents, beginning in about May 2004, Victims KD and ED have owned and resided at 1902 Candleberry Lane, Yorkville, Illinois. Victims KD and ED attained ownership of the property through a purchase financed with an adjustable rate mortgage held by Chase Home Finance in the amount of $346,500. In about June 2005, after Victims KD and ED fell in arrears on the mortgage loan, and foreclosure proceedings commenced against 1902 Candleberry Lane. According to Victims KD and ED, they were unable to refinance their property because their credit was poor, and a Sheriff’s Sale of their property was scheduled for March 2006.
8. According to Victims KD and ED, in or around February 2006, Victims KD and ED were contacted via flyer mailed to them by LANDWER, whom they did not know. The letterhead was from the Accurate Financial Group, 360-23 W. Schick Rd., Suite 120, Bloomingdale, Illinois, 60108. In the flyer, LANDWER advised,
“We have assisted homeowners like you who are in very real danger of losing their homes. We can help you save the home you have worked so hard for, but you must take action NOW.”9. Victim ED called LANDWER on the telephone number reflected on the flyer. LANDWER promised to refinance their property at a lower, fixed-rate. LANDWER also said that at the closing and as part of the refinancing, they would obtain equity out of the property to further settle their outstanding debt. Shortly after talking with LANDWER, Victims KD and ED signed documents to refinance their home through LANDWER and Accurate Financial Group.
10. Victims KD and ED received via fax a letter from LANDWER, dated March 3, 2006, on The Accurate Financial Group letterhead, signed by Charles H. Landwer, Jr. In the letter, LANDWER claimed,
“I have been successful in saving your home and stopping the Sheriff’s Sale. . . . We have begun dealing with the legal department of Chase Home Finance, LLC in San Diego, California. We are trying to work out an agreement as to the length of the repayment plan and the amount of reserves that will need to be escrowed.”11. Victims KD and ED received via fax a letter from LANDWER, dated March 16, 2006, on The Accurate Financial Group letterhead, signed by Charles H. Landwer, Jr. In the letter, LANDWER claimed that “[a]fter numerous calls and faxes between Chase Bank and our office,” they had come to an agreement. Either before or soon after this letter, LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that as a condition of the settlement negotiation, Chase Home Finance required their residence be placed in a trust. On March 23, 2006, at LANDWER’s direction, Victims KD and ED placed their residence at 1902 Candleberry Lane into a land trust managed by the Wayne Hummer Trust Company (trust SBL-2209). Victims KD and ED did so based on LANDWER’s false representation that Chase Home Finance required their residence be placed in a trust while negotiating a settlement. LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that they would be the trustees, and that they would remain owners of and in control of the land trust.
12. At LANDWER’s direction, between March 2006 and September 2006, Victims KD and ED made monthly mortgage payments on 1902 Candleberry Lane to Chase Home Finance, pursuant to what LANDWER had told them was a negotiated settlement with their lender, Chase Home Finance.
13. On about May 18, 2006, according to documents from the Wayne Hummer Trust Company, a document granting, “all rights, powers, privileges and beneficial interest in” the trust was transferred to Accurate Financial Group and LANDWER, and allegedly signed by Victims KD and ED. At no time did LANDWER tell Victims KD and ED that LANDWER would become beneficiary of the trust, and at no time did they authorize LANDWER to become beneficiary or to otherwise have control over their property. According to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any documents relating to 1902 Candleberry Lane in May 2006, they have never been to Wayne Hummer Trust Company, they have never met LANDWER in person, and they have never heard of Individual C, the alleged witness to the assignment. Based upon the Kendall County Recorder of Deeds’ filestamp, this alleged assignment was recorded on May 19, 2006, at the Kendall County, Illinois Recorder’s office.
14. Trust documents show that, on or about May 18, 2006, assignment documents purportedly signed by Victims KD and ED, were provided to the Wayne Hummer Trust Company at the request of LANDWER, which provided LANDWER with a beneficiary empowerment with the power of direction over the trust for 1902 Candleberry Lane. The only asset in the trust (SBL-2209) is 1902 Candleberry Lane.
15. According to the owner of RNB Title, on or about November 7, 2006, LANDWER contacted mortgage broker GC Lending for purposes of refinancing the property at 1902 Candleberry Lane. On about November 10, 2006, for purposes of the refinance, 1902 Candleberry Lane was appraised at $405,000. GC Lending obtained financing through American Mortgage Network (“AmNet”). According to RNB Title documents, on or about November 17, 2006, AmNet approved the funding for the refinancing of 1902 Candleberry Lane
16. According to the owner of RNB Title and unbeknownst to Victims KD and ED, on about November 30, 2006, Wayne Hummer Trust Company transferred 1902 Candleberry Lane to LANDWER via quit claim deed.
17. According to RNB Title documents, on or about December 6, 2006, a closing took place at RNB Title, 17W662 Butterfield Road in Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois, for purposes of refinancing the property at 1902 Candleberry Lane. Victims KD and ED were still living at 1902 Candleberry Lane, but they were unaware that a refinance was occurring, and they did not attend the December 6, 2006 closing.
18. RNB Title records indicate that, on about December 6, 2006, at the conclusion of the closing for 1902 Candleberry Lane, AmNet wired $230,522 from a disbursement account in San Diego, California, into the RNB Title account at the Private Bank and Trust Company, and ultimately into the Accurate Financial account (#0250031736) at Hinsdale Bank, an account held in the name of Accurate Financial Group, which account was opened and controlled by LANDWER and for which LANDWER was the sole signator. In addition, according to the owner of RNB Title, an RNB check in the amount of $50,000 was made payable to LANDWER personally. According to the owner of RNB Title, LANDWER requested the separate $50,000 check so he could use it as a down payment in an upcoming property purchase.
19. A review of the $50,000 check reflects that the reverse is endorsed by LANDWER. Beneath LANDWER’s signature is an endorsement stamp for deposit into Ticor Title Insurance Company’s Bank of America account. Ticor Title Insurance Company was the title company at the December 7, 2006 closing to purchase LANDWER’s residence at 1225 Oak Hill Road, Unit A.
20. According to the Hinsdale Bank CEO, on about December 6 or 7, 2006, LANDWER entered Hinsdale Bank and attempted to withdraw $238,000 from the Accurate Financial account in $100 bills. On December 5, 2006, just prior to the December 6, 2006, $230,522 inbound wire from RNB’s bank account #2103252 at the Private Bank of Chicago, the balance in LANDWER’s Hinsdale Bank account was approximately $34,291. According to the Hinsdale Bank CEO, the teller advised LANDWER that the bank did not have sufficient $100 bills to cover such a large withdrawal and, rather, offered LANDWER a $238,000 cashier’s check. LANDWER declined the cashier’s check and insisted to the teller that he needed the funds in cash because he could get an $11,000 discount on an alleged, unspecified asset that he wanted to purchase. The teller informed LANDWER that the cash funds would have to be ordered from the Federal Reserve Bank and that it would take several days.
LANDWER requested the $238,000 cash be ordered, and asked Hinsdale Bank to notify him when the cash funds would be available.
21. On or about December 11, 2006, the owner of RNB Title requested that RNB’s bank, The Private Bank of Chicago, initiate a wire recall request from Hinsdale Bank, to retrieve their dispersed funds ($230,522). The owner of RNB Title made the wire recall request because she believed, due to a series of discussions with her underwriting company, Ticor Title, that the December 6, 2006 closing of 1902 Candleberry Lane was fraudulent. On December 11, 2006, Hinsdale Bank notified law enforcement that it was honoring a request to recall the wire from the Private Bank on behalf of RNB Title for the December 6, 2006, $230,522 wire transfer. Hinsdale Bank advised LANDWER that RNB Title recalled the December 6, 2006 wire into the Accurate Financial account, and the $238,000 cash funds he sought to withdraw from the Hinsdale Bank were no longer available.
22. In a February 20, 2007, letter mailed to Victims KD and ED via the U.S. Postal Service from the law firm of Krentz & Krentz, LANDWER's attorneys, based upon information provided to them by their client, claimed that Victims KD and ED owed Accurate Financial Group $12,812 for unpaid rents for living at 1902 Candleberry Lane, in Yorkville, Illinois. According to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any agreement with LANDWER regarding rent.
23. During a consensually-recorded telephone call on about February 28, 2007, LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that they still were the owners of record of their residence. During this same conversation LANDWER told Victims KD and ED that they still owed LANDWER $50,000.
24. KD and ED received via mail a letter from LANDWER, dated March 20, 2007, on The Accurate Financial Group letterhead, signed by Charles H. Landwer, Jr. In the letter, LANDWER referenced his conversation with Victims KD and ED “last week” and the “need to finalize our agreement regarding your property.” Again, according to Victims KD and ED, they never signed any such agreement with LANDWER. LANDWER stated in the letter,
"As I am sure you remember we advanced the funds to save your home from foreclosure. We also advanced some funds as you were unable to stay current with your existing mortgage. . . . Our agreement called for the return of our money and a small amount of interest, if this was not received we are authorized to sell the property to recover our money – a drastic step we do not want to take if at all n ecessary. . . The way I understand your situation is that you can refinance the home and pay my firm the monies owed, you can sell the home and pay my firm the monies owed, or you can move out and my firm will contract with someone to sell the home pay off the mortgage-mortgages and pay my firm."25. On or about December 6, 2006, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, CHARLES LANDWER, defendant herein, for the purpose of executing the above-described scheme to defraud and attempting to do so, knowingly caused to be transmitted in interstate commerce by wire communication from AmNet in San Diego, California, to the Private Bank and Trust Company in Chicago, Illinois, certain signs, signals and sounds, namely: approximately $230,522.38 from the fraudulent refinance of Victim KD and ED’s house in Yorkville, Illinois, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and 2.
Conclusion
26. I believe that based on the above information there is probable cause to believe that CHARLES H. LANDWER, JR., committed wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and 2.
FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.
____________________________________
VICK LOMBARDO, Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME
this _____day of September, 2008
________________________________________
MARTIN ASHMAN
United States Magistrate Judge
Labels: Barrington Shores, Charles H. Landwer Jr., FBI, Vick Lombardo
# posted by Cal Skinner : 8:57 AM
