By LORRAINE SWANSON
Editor
A Cook County Circuit Court judge didn’t buy a politically-connected, West Ridge developer’s argument that he wasn’t properly served in a breach of contract suit.
Judge Bill Taylor of the court’s law division upheld a default judgment against Mohammed Tariq Siddiqui on Tuesday. Taylor also quashed a motion that Siddiqui was not properly served notice of Brideview’s complaint that the developer had failed to pay four promissory notes totaling $2.7 million.
Barak Obama with Mohammed Tariqu Siddiqui (left), Ald. Joe Moore and other business leaders from West Ridge's Pakistani community at a ribbon cutting ceremony at Sunrise Equities' office at 6335 N. Claremont, during Obama's 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate. Sunrise donated office space to be used as a campaign office for Obama mainly to distribute yard signs. In 2008, Siddiqui served as a bundler for Obama's presidential campaign raising over $50,000.
Siddiqui is a former partner of Sunrise Equities, a West Ridge investment firm responsible for a number of unfinished developments. Sunrise CEO Salman Ibrahim vanished a year ago and is alleged to have left the United States with an estimated $80 million in investors’ money, many of them from West Ridge’s Indian and Pakistani community.
The developer is also behind the $16 million parking and condominium complex at the intersection of Devon and Rockwell in the 50th Ward. Siddiqui purchased the property valued at $915,000 from the City of Chicago for $1 in 2005 after he submitted a development proposal to the then Chicago Department of Planning and Development. The project, which is already two years behind schedule, is costing taxpayers $4.5 million in TIF money from the Devon-Rockwell TIF.
According to court documents, Bridgeview Bank issued notes for mortgages and construction loans to Siddiqui for properties at 2740 W. Pratt, 2115 W. Roscoe, 4635 N. Broadway and 2140-50 W. Devon. Bridgeview Bank has also filed for foreclosures against the Pratt and Roscoe properties.
On June 11, Bridgeview Bank received a default judgment against Siddiqui in the amount of $2,984,936 after the developer failed to appear in court. Should a defendant fail to acknowledge a court summons by not responding or appearing in court, a judge can award a default judgment to the plaintiff, as in the case of Bridgeview Bank vs. Mohammed Siddiqui.
Siddiqui filed a motion to quash the default judgment, claiming that he was not properly served notice of Bridgeview’s legal complaint against him.
An affidavit by the process server disputes Siddiqui’s claims, describing Siddiqui’s alleged refusal to accept the court summons while visiting the office of one of his attorneys.
According to the process server’s affidavit, he arrived at 77 W. Washington on Feb. 21, 2009, where he believed Siddiqui would be arriving for a meeting with one of his attorneys, Robert Habib. The process server provides a detailed account of his attempts to serve Siddiqui:
“At approximately 1:09 p.m. a well-groomed Middle Eastern male (45-50, 5’9”, 225 pounds, with black hair arrived wearing black/silver glasses and dressed in black shoes, black slacks, black leather waist length coat and black Ascot Style cap. I believed this man to be the defendant as he matched the description and the photo of the defendant …
“As the subject passed where I was seated, I stood and approached him from behind. With his back turned to me, I called aloud ‘Mohammed’ to see what reaction he made. He immediately stopped in the hall just adjacent to suite 411 and turned towards me, at which time I announced I was a process server and produced the three (3) documents. I informed Mr. Siddiqui he was served but he refused to accept service. I then attempted to hand the documents to Mohammed Siddiqui; however he walked away. I then informed him he was served and the documents would be left on the hall floor. He was then observed by me entering into suite 411.
“I immediately departed the 4th floor via the elevator and without stopping to speak to any person(s) and proceeded to the lobby of 77 W. Washington, Chicago, IL, and departed.”
The process server further stated that he left the summons with the doorman in the downstairs lobby of 77 W. Washington. In an affidavit submitted to the court by the attorney whose office Siddiqui visited in February, Habib claimed that no one approached his client while he was in his office. When he and Siddiqui left the building later that day, the doorman handed copies of the summons and complaint to them.
A motion filed by attorneys representing Bridgeview Bank stated that Habib did not claim to have been present in the hallways outside his office just before Siddiqui entered his office. However, Habib told Lake Effect News that he stood by the affidavit he completed for Weissberg and Associates, the law firm representing Siddiqui in the Bridgeview Bank lawsuit.
“No one served [Siddiqui] in my office and I dispute the claim that he was served,” Habib said. “You’re supposed to be served personally at [your] residence. He wasn’t served and whatever I say in my affidavit, I stand by it.”
Illinois requires court summons to be served to a defendant personally, or at his or her residence. Subpoenas notifying a defendant that he or she being served may be left with any person over the age of 13. Parties named in lawsuits can also be served notice by certified mail and by published notice in a newspaper or other publication.
Rakesh Khanna, Siddiqui’s attorney, argued that Siddiqui was not properly served, stating that Siddiqui and Habib were handed the summons and complaint by a doorman.
“So he was served notice,” Judge Taylor said.
Khanna also argued that there were omissions from the complaint signed by representatives of Bridgeview Bank a month after Siddiqui was served.
After a five-minute presentation by attorneys for both sides, Judge Taylor upheld the default judgment and denied the motion to quash service. Neither Siddiqui nor Bridgeview Bank representatives, save for their attorneys, were present at the hearing. Siddiqui could possibly appeal the judgment.
Asked how Bridgeview Bank intended to collect the money that Siddiqui owes to them, Bridgeview’s attorney, Steven Radtke said, “My client is still deciding what to do.”
Khanna did not return calls seeking comment.
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This one deal, with its multiple layers of fraud and corruption, encapsulates everything that has gone wrong in this country. I remember when that parcel was sold to that developer for $1, and wondered why on Earth there wasn’t a public inquiry into that sale. How was Bernie Stone not indicted for whatever role he had in selling a lot worth nearly $1M for $1.00 to a politically connected developer, and then helping to form a TIF district that diverted another $4.5 billion….. for which we don’t even have a building?
You have to know that this deal is not unique and that if we dug, we could expose about a thousand more, just in this city, never mind other cities and towns across the country.
Then, a local bank lends $2.7M that will never be paid back.
And then, the CEO of the outfit flees with $80M of investors’ money. That was within the past 5 years, in the face of a structure of AML laws that are designed to assist in detecting and preventing illegal transfers of money in and out and within the country. How’d they transfer this amount of money? It’s not easy these days to conceal the origins or end recipients of criminal money, so several local financial institutions had to collude in this, and their part in it could be discovered by legwork on the part of authorities.
Many people in local politics and law enforcement had to be in on this, and many others, including federal authorities, had to be turning a blind eye. If there is anyone in authority left with any sense of decency, he/she/they need to set to work to expose every detail of this filthy deal.
We’ve reached some kind of a limit on how much of this we as a country can absorb.
o
If we do nothing alderman stone, mayor daley, and developer siddiqui will be urinating in our kitchen sinks if we let them. The ammount of injustice i have witnessed deeply concerns me. To all involved against the construction never give up the fight against these selfish, aristocratic, individuals in order to preserve our basic freedoms.
I think this typifies the conduct of Tariq Siddiqi. I have been investigating Siddiqi for the past few years and slowly and slowly are obtaining the facts and unraveling the fraud. Unlike Salman Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities disaster, the Feds go after the big boys but the smaller guys who scam money go under the radar. As I have a personal interest in finding all the facts to present to the proper authorities (hoping they wont go ignored) it has become very clear the Tariq Siddiqui or Siddiqi and Salman Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities were working together. In light of the recent Broadway Bank shut down, it has been even more clear that there are many people involved, including our Illinois government officials who seem to be involved in some corruption. It is a pretty well known fact that Tariq Siddiqi and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias have known each other for quite some time. And the expansion of Tariq Siddiqi’s scam was because Alexi funded his projects when most banks would have turned it down. It is sad to see that Alexi blames Broadway Banks downfall on the economy when the Broadway Bank and Alexi’s own careless and greed caused it which may or may not be fraudulent. Siddiqi had many accomplices, he had sham-buyers, attorneys, realtors, appraisers, architects, bankers and many more that he either forced to work with him or got paid well. I know several people who gave about $50-100,000 to Siddiqi for a Sunrise type scheme and then threatened them if they ever took any legal action. I know one person that was investigating Siddiqi that just happened to be beaten up in his own home. Too many coincidences, i think not. Here are some examples that I have found.
- There are buyers for Siddiqi’s condo projects where the same buyers buy condo units in multiple properties, if not multiple units in the same development and go into foreclosure immediately.
- Siddiqi takes the proceeds and hides them in different accounts accounting at a expense for his Homes 4 You, Inc. company stating that it is a payment towards work and investors are told that the development failed while Siddiqi pockets a large sum of money from each deal, approximately $50-100k.
- Siddiqi’s Attorney, Charles Levy and many others get Attorney Fees of $100,000 or more from each closing. That is pretty outrageous fees for a closing.
- Most condos that are sold are not even finished and looks like someone just walked around with a hammer and nails to show that somehing happened.
- Siddiqi strips the equity of a new property that he has gotten to payoff older properties to continue his scam and stay good with banks.
- There are letters with Siddiqi, Broadway bank, sunrise equities and salman ibrahim as recent as 1-2 months before Salman Ibrahim disappeared trying to broker some deal.
Needless, to say, the list goes on and on. Court records show that almost all of Siddiqi’s properties are in foreclosure and all the honest investors are screwed. Then he gets these unscrupulous lawyers, like Charles Levy, Robert Habib, Rakesh Khanna of Weissberg and Associates who are all part of the scam and keeping Siddiqi alive by hiding funds for them in Client Trust Accounts.
Some have sad that Siddiqi’s actions are like the Mafia….He thinks he is above it all and is untouchable.
The $5M property Siddiqui owns at 1724 N. Cleveland in the heart of Lincoln Park goes to Sheriff’s sale auction Tuesday the 25th. Chance for someone to recoup some losses if the lender is trying to unload the property.
The property Siddiqui owns at 1724 Cleveland in the heart of Lincoln Park goes to Sheriff Sale Auction Tuesday the 25th. He’s borrowed nearly $10M against it, it’s worth now maybe $3M tops.
why has siddiqui been at ohare airport so much recently? several sourses have numbered his presence there over 8 times this last year-spending hours talking about security with CPD officers-TSA procedures at checkpoints-valid overheard conversations. If anyone knows please blog