A jury in Chicago convicted an Indiana man Friday of defrauding a bank and an elderly couple of $300,000 as he and two of his clients tried to prevent the foreclosure of property in west suburban Aurora.
Robert Jon Schlyer, 47, of Portage, Indiana, was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of bank fraud following a four-day trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
In 2004, Schlyer was representing two men — Kevin LeBeau and Brian Bodie — in connection with a foreclosure lawsuit on a 10-acre property in Aurora when he provided false documents to the couple and Amcore Bank in order to postpone the foreclosure, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Schlyer gave the couple fake documents that made it appear they were making a safe investment in the redevelopment of the property, which LeBeau and Bodie had failed to make payments on.
Instead, they used some of the money provided by the couple to pay down the bank loan, prosecutors said. They also gave false documents to bank, making it appear that investors had committed about $1.5 million to the redevelopment project.
Both LeBeau and Bodie were previously convicted in the case and are awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said. Each count against Schlyer carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.