Albert Rossini Got 11 Years for Selling Phony Mortgage Notes; Khoshabe Father and Son Sentenced; Rossini Later Convicted of Bank Fraud While on Release

Case from 2015–2026 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Oct. 14, 2021; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Albert Rossini owned Devon Street Investments in Lincolnwood, Illinois. On Oct. 12, 2021, he was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for selling investors phony mortgage notes on apartment buildings in or near foreclosure, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois [1]. Victims put in more than $7 million, and prosecutors said Rossini pocketed more than $2.5 million of it.

His father-and-son co-defendants, Babajan Khoshabe and Anthony Khoshabe, were convicted by a separate jury in 2019 [1]. Law360 reported they were sentenced on Feb. 22, 2022: the father to 4 years and the son to 2½ years [4].

In a separate federal case, a jury convicted Rossini in July 2023 of bank fraud committed while he was on pretrial release. He received an additional 36 months, to run consecutively [7].

How the scheme worked

According to the 2015 indictment and evidence at trial, as described by prosecutors [2] [1]:

1. The pitch. Starting around September 2011, Rossini and Babajan Khoshabe sold investors supposed mortgage notes on distressed apartment buildings. They promised rental income from tenants and, after foreclosure, title to the buildings.
2. The "management company." Investors were told Anthony Khoshabe managed the buildings through Reliant Management, which shared office space with Devon Street Investments, and would collect rents for them. The indictment says Reliant didn't manage the properties and Anthony Khoshabe had no right to collect rents.
3. The lawyer's paperwork. Chicago attorney Thomas Murphy prepared a phony "Guaranty Agreement" that Rossini showed victims to make the sales look legitimate [1].
4. The Ponzi. The defendants didn't own the notes. Victims' money went to Ponzi-type payments to other investors, and the rest was pocketed.

Prosecutors' sentencing memo described the full picture, as reported by Patch [3]:

• "There were no buildings and there were no tenants." The monthly "rent" payments were investors' own money coming back to them.
• County records showed Rossini held no interest in any of the 57 mortgages he collected money for.
• When the payments stopped in November 2012, the defendants allegedly strung victims along with "a web of lies—and even a fake lawsuit" in Cook County court.

Patch and Law360 reported that the investors included two church congregations and family members [3] [4].

The defendants

Defendant	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Albert Rossini, Skokie (owner, Devon Street Investments)	Jury conviction 2018 on 14 counts of mail and wire fraud (No. 15-cr-515). Sentenced Oct. 12, 2021, to 132 months concurrent on each count plus 3 years supervised release. Affirmed by the 7th Cir. (No. 21-3115) on June 7, 2023; a second appeal (No. 22-2030) affirmed Sept. 18, 2023. His motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 was denied April 17, 2026	[1], [5], [6]
Albert Rossini (separate case, No. 17-cr-522)	Charged with a bank fraud scheme from about November 2016 to July 2017 using fraudulently created or obtained checks, with a "while on release" enhancement. Jury conviction on 4 counts, July 25, 2023. Sentenced Sept. 17, 2025, to 36 months, consecutive to the 15-cr-515 sentence; judgment entered April 16, 2026	[7]
Babajan Khoshabe, Chicago	Jury conviction 2019; sentenced Feb. 22, 2022, to 4 years, per Law360	[1], [4]
Anthony Khoshabe, Skokie	Jury conviction 2019; sentenced Feb. 22, 2022, to 2½ years, per Law360	[1], [4]
Thomas W. Murphy, Chicago attorney	Pleaded guilty and admitted his role [1]. Status pending; no sentence found in public sources as of Oct. 16, 2026. A later sentencing hearing appears on the case docket, but the public entry doesn't name the defendant	[1], [6]

Red flags

• "Buy the mortgage note and get the building after foreclosure." Real note purchases are documented with assignments recorded with the county. Check them.
• "Rent" checks from a property you've never seen, paid by the promoter instead of a property manager you can verify.
• A lawyer's "guaranty" offered as proof the deal is safe. Call the attorney's office yourself, and check the lawyer with the ARDC.
• Lawsuits or "legal delays" given as the reason payments stopped.

What to do

1. Search the county recorder's records (Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division) for the mortgage and any assignment to you before you pay.
2. Verify property managers and attorneys independently. Look up attorneys at iardc.org.
3. Report suspected real estate investment fraud to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov and the Illinois Securities Department.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Suburban Chicago Businessman Sentenced to Eleven Years in Federal Prison for Participating in Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme," Oct. 14, 2021. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/suburban-chicago-businessman-sentenced-eleven-years-federal-prison-participating-multi
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Father And Son Among Four People Indicted In $2.9 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Bogus Mortgage Sales In North Suburbs," Aug. 25, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/father-and-son-among-four-people-indicted-29-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-bogus
3. Patch (Skokie), "Skokie Man Sentenced In Ponzi Scheme Targeting Assyrian Churches," Oct. 15, 2021. https://patch.com/illinois/skokie/skokie-man-sentenced-ponzi-scheme-targeting-assyrian-churches
4. Law360, "Father Gets 4 Years, Son 2.5, Over $4.5M Investment Scam," Feb. 22, 2022. https://www.law360.com/articles/1467153/father-gets-4-years-son-2-5-over-4-5m-investment-scam
5. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Rossini, No. 21-3115 (June 7, 2023), via Justia. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/21-3115/21-3115-2023-06-07.html
6. CourtListener, United States v. Rossini, No. 1:15-cr-00515 (N.D. Ill.), docket. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6510965/united-states-v-rossini/
7. CourtListener, United States v. Rossini, No. 1:17-cr-00522 (N.D. Ill.), docket, including the superseding indictment (April 28, 2022) and judgment (April 16, 2026). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6551860/united-states-v-rossini/

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