Slumlord of Rogers Park gets 9 Years

"Kakvand bought 33 apartment buildings in Rogers Park and on Chicago's South Side between 1997 and 2004, but didn't renovate them. Units were sold as rehabbed condos at inflated prices, using straw buyers who defaulted on $29 million in loans. The plot displaced renters, and left decaying buildings prone to squatters, drug dealers, fire and water damage".

"Also charged were Syed Ali Mohammed Razvi, a fugitive, and real estate appraisers Thomas M. Groh, Eric L. Dorsey and Britt J. Pierre, who earlier pled guilty".

"Haggerty said Kakvand's continuing legacy is the reduction in the amount of affordable rental housing in Rogers Park, and the artificial inflation of area home prices".

"Rogers Park was always one of the most affordable communities," Haggerty said. "I don't think it is anymore."

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Tags: 49th Ward, 60626, 60645, Britt J. Pierre, Eric L. Dorsey, Mohammad "Mike" Taghie Kakvand, mortgage scheme, real estate, Rogers Park, slumlord, Syed Ali Mohammed Razvi, Thomas M. Groh