State regulators say they are investigating a development firm suspected of bilking Muslim investors, many in an Indian and Pakistani neighborhood, out of as much as US$50 million.
The Illinois Secretary of State’s Securities Department this week issued a temporary order preventing anyone from buying or selling assets of Sunrise Equities Inc, a Chicago-based real estate development firm whose CEO disappeared last month.
Salman Ibrahim allegedly persuaded up to 200 investors, many from a large Indian and Pakistani neighborhood on the city’s North Side, to invest their savings or mortgage their homes to help fund real estate ventures.
Some investors suspect that Ibrahim, who was a well-known member of Chicago’s South Asian community, has returned to his native Pakistan. Many fear they have lost their life’s savings.
Securities Department Director Tanya Solov said investigators may work with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan or the US Attorney’s office to pursue criminal charges.
She said the company appears to have used Ibrahim’s position in the community to specifically target Muslims.
“The victims have something in common with the perpetrators so there’s tremendous trust,” she said. “We don’t get notified until they don’t get paid, the offices are shut down and the perpetrators can’t be located.”
Solov said Ibrahim gave investors unsecured promissory notes that his company wasn’t licensed to issue. The notes don’t provide collateral and, with Ibrahim gone, are impossible to collect on.
Solov said the company doesn’t have a lawyer.
No one answered at a number listed for Ibrahim’s last known residence. Messages left at the home of Sunrise senior vice president Amjed Mahmood weren’t returned. A number for senior vice president Mohammad Akbar Zahid couldn’t be located.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS