Five individuals from the North Shore have been federally charged for allegedly partaking in a $15.7 million residential mortgage and construction loan fraud scheme, leading to a loss of more than $8 million for lenders, said the Chicago Tribune.


Gary Fishkin, former manager, Alexander Field, former president, and Edward Renko, former CEO – all of whom were employed at EAG Capital Holdings, Inc. (EAG) in Northbrook before the company’s demise – were three of the individuals charged in the scheme.

“Renko faces two counts of wire fraud and one count each of bank fraud and making a false statement to influence the action of a bank. Field faces three counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud, while Fishkin faces two counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud and making a false statement to influence the action of a bank,” said Chicago Tribune.

The other two charged in the scheme are: Kalliope Shaykin, former president of Absolute Title Services in Schaumburg, and Tatyana Furman, former loan officer and mortgage broker at American United Mortgage Co. in Northbrook. Both individuals face seven counts of wire fraud and Shaykin also faces one count of making a false statement to influence the action of a bank.

Furman’s company was 50 percent owned by EAG.

“On multiple occasions, the indictment alleges that Furman prepared, and Renko, Field, and Fishkin signed, fraudulent mortgage loan applications that contained false statements that failed to disclose the respective defendant’s existing mortgage liabilities and the purpose of the loans. Shaykin allegedly created and submitted to lenders fraudulent title insurance policies under the name of Title Company A that intentionally omitted prior existing mortgages and liens on the respective defendant’s residences,” said the press release form the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It is believed that Renko, Field, and Fishkin “distributed at least $720,000 in fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to Shaykin through various means, and that those four defendants distributed at least $240,000 to Furman through various transactions.”

The U.S. Justice Department believes the defendants received over $8 million in loans “by repeatedly obtaining mortgages secured by residences owned by Renko, Field and Fishkin.” These loans were put to personal use rather than their intended purpose.

“The indictment seeks forfeiture totaling nearly $10.5 million from all five defendants,” said the press release. If found guilty, the defendants could face prison sentences of 20 to 30 years.