'What he did was trick her': A son grapples with a reverse mortgage scam targeting his mother
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A West Garfield Park man has lived in his home for nearly six decades. Now he is facing losing the place he's called home for almost his entire life.
The reason? Reverse mortgage fraud. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot had the story Thursday night that you'll see Only on 2.
"What he did was trick her," said Tyrone Christopher.
Christopher is talking about Mark Diamond, a man accused for more than two decades of getting unsuspecting seniors on the South Side and the West Side to sign paperwork involving reverse mortgage schemes.
The seniors thought they would be getting rehab work done on their homes and receive a rehab loan.
"They were supposed to do the bathroom and the roof," Christopher said. "They didn't have to do the roof, because it was a new roof!"
Christopher said his late mother, Ida Mae Christopher, was one of Diamond's victims. Prosecutors said Diamond and his co-schemers pocketed the loan proceeds.
"Mark lied to her. Wasn't no money. No money got paid out at all," Christopher said.
Christopher said his mother had dementia when she signed the reverse mortgage documents in 2014. Since her death in 2015, he's been dealing with a mountain of paperwork and fighting to keep the house.
It's in foreclosure. He's expects to be served with an eviction notice when he goes to court on Monday.
"It's gut wrenching you know. Wow," Christopher said. "Took all the air out of me."
In 1964, Tyrone Christopher moved into this house. It's the only home that he's ever known he told CBS 2. At the age of 10, he said he planted a tree that's now taller than the house and reaching for the sky. Juliet Sorensen knows firsthand what Diamond's victim's have gone through.
"The U.S. Attorneys Office has identified more than 130 victims in this case and there are likely more," she said.
Sorensen is a professor in Northwestern's Bluhm Legal Clinic. She is not involved in Christopher's case, but has represented 45 of Diamond's victims.
"The victims in this case, were exceedingly vulnerable. In fact, that's precisely why they were preyed upon in the first place," Sorensen said.
At the age of 67, Christopher said he's now faced with leaving the only home he's known since childhood.
"I don't know where I'm going. I don't know where I'm going," Christopher said.
All those accused in the reverse mortgage schemes, including Mark Diamond, are expected to plead guilty.
