Former Algonquin builder gets 15 months for bank fraud

A former home builder was sentenced Thursday to 15 months in prison for swindling a bank out of more than $1 million by submitting paperwork indicating his company did work that was never performed on a construction project in Algonquin.

Bruce Hawkins, 64, who owned Aspen Homebuilders Inc., pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to 15 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr., according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office. He was also ordered to pay $1,017,183 in restitution.

Hawkins, who now lives in Denver, admitted to defrauding Amcore Bank of more than $1 million from the proceeds of $13.5 million line of credit to finance the Riverside Square project, according to the statement.

In 2006, Aspen Homebuilders obtained the bank loan to finance the construction of the project, a commercial development at Route 31 and Algonquin Road in Algonquin, according to the statement.

Between January 2007 and June 2008, Hawkins submitted false contractor statements, waiver of liens, and contract invoices that requested funds purportedly for village permits, construction work, and consulting work for the development.

The development, which came to be known as Tyvek Towers by residents, was never completed.