Man accused of bilking elderly
A McHenry County grand jury has indicted a St. Charles real estate investor on charges he bilked an elderly couple out of about $18,000 through a bogus investment scheme.
Zia Ahmed, 59, faces two counts of financial exploitation of the elderly and three securities fraud charges stemming from an investigation by the Illinois secretary of state and attorney general.
Ahmed faces similar allegations involving other victims in DuPage and DeKalb counties, attorney general spokesman Natalie Bauer said Wednesday. He is in custody at the DuPage County jail awaiting trial.
The McHenry County charges allege that between April 17 and April 27 of 2006, Ahmed collected $18,000 from a Woodstock couple promising to invest it in a company called Senior Care Financial Services.
Instead, court documents state, Ahmed took the funds and used it for personal expenses.
At the time, Ahmed had been barred by the state from selling securities or other investments, the charges allege. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
In the DuPage and DeKalb cases, Ahmed is accused of stealing about $376,000 from elderly victims, Bauer said.