Former Cook County employee used 'straw' buyers to fraudulently purchase, resell homes

COOK COUNTY, Ill. - A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) has been sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for fraudulently purchasing and reselling properties from the agency with the use of "straw buyers."

Mustafaa Saleh, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge.

According to prosecutors, Saleh worked as an asset manager for the CCLBA, which is a governmental entity that promotes the redevelopment and reuse of vacant, foreclosed, abandoned and tax-delinquent real estate by acquiring and transferring the property to private ownership.

The CCLBA sold the real estate at below-market rates and prohibited the buyers from selling or renting a property until the entity was satisfied that the buyer had improved it. Additionally, CCBLA employees were prohibited from purchasing a property from the agency unless it would be used as their primary residence.

From 2016 to 2021, Saleh used "straw" buyers to purchase six properties from the CCLBA on his behalf. He then redeveloped, resold and used the properties for his financial benefit, prosecutors said.

In some instances, he oversaw the same properties he owned and resold. The properties were located in Chicago, Oak Lawn and Midlothian.

Additionally, Saleh fraudulently obtained maintenance work from the CCLBA and in 2016, he formed a maintenance company called Evergreen Property Services and directed another individual to pose as its owner.

Over the next three years, Saleh had the CCLBA contract with the maintenance company and the agency paid it more than $1 million for services.

Saleh's sentence was handed down in federal court last week.