Feds indict investment advisor who allegedly bilked Pippen in another case

Feds indict investment advisor who allegedly bilked Pippen in another case


BY MICHAEL LANSU
Staff Reporter

Last Modified: Jun 1, 2012 02:32AM

An investment adviser who allegedly bilked millions from ex-Bulls star Scottie Pippen was accused by the federal government Wednesday of stealing more than $3.2 million from an Oak Brook bank and two of his clients.

Robert J. Lunn, 62, was charged with five counts of bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Thursday.

The government alleges he received a $1.32 million line of credit from Leaders Bank for his investment advisory business, Lunn Partners LLC and took separate loans of $1.4 million and $500,000 from two unidentified clients without their knowledge, according to the indictment.

Pippen accused Lunn of bilking $17.5 million from him and a court awarded the former Bulls star an $11.8 million judgment in 2004. Pippen claimed Lunn advised him the $1.35 million investment in a Gulfstream jet and a $3.25 million investment in a real estate development on the Southwest Side that went bankrupt.

Pippen sued Lunn, who filed for bankruptcy amid suits from other clients, and settled for $1.5 million. Pippen also won a $2 million judgment against the law firm Pedersen & Houpt, who claimed the two attorneys failed to closely monitor the deals he made on Lunn’s advice.

In the new charges, the government accuses Lunn of obtaining a $480,000 business line of credit in May 2001. In early 2004, he increased the credit line to $1.2 million then $1.32 million by falsely claiming he owned millions of dollars in Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers stock, the indictment said.

He later arranged a $1.4 million bank loan by claiming a client wanted to purchase an interest in an airplane in September 2002, the complaint said. It is unclear whether the client was Pippen.

He also allegedly arranged a $500,000 bank loan in 2004 for a second client he claimed wanted money for a business investment.

Lunn used the funds for his own business and personal uses — including mortgage payments and $1.4 million in payments to other clients, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The schemes caused the bank to lose $2.7 million, according to the indictment, which seeks forfeiture of more than $2.7 million. Lunn faces up to 30 years in prison for each of the five counts of bank fraud and a $1 million fine and mandatory restitution.


Contributing: Allison Horton, Lisa Donovan


http://www.suntimes.com/12900707-761/feds-indict-investment-advisor-who-allegedly-bilked-pippen-in-another-case.html

Editor's note: FEDs, when the judges and lawyers in the Probate Court of Cook County do exactly the same as Mr. Lunn, why are they given a pass? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com