Jawad Fakroune, Alias 'Angelino Escobar,' Charged With $2.6 Million Investment Fraud and Tax Evasion

Case from 2025–2026 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Aug. 28, 2025; 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.

Jawad Fakroune, 45, a foreign national who recently lived in the Chicago area and has used names including "Angelino Escobar" and "Angelo Baldini," was indicted on Aug. 26, 2025, on charges that he defrauded people of at least $2.6 million with fake investment pitches and evaded income taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

Important: Fakroune is presumed innocent of the fraud and tax charges unless and until proven guilty. In a separate case, a federal jury convicted him of extortion, and he was sentenced in June 2026 (see below).

How the alleged schemes worked

According to the indictment as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. Containers and cannabis: In 2022, Fakroune allegedly got about $2.45 million from one person by claiming he would invest it in a shipping container business and a marijuana growing operation.
2. Personal spending: He allegedly spent nearly all of it on himself, including buying a home in Lemont, Illinois, paying rent on a New York residence, restaurant and shopping trips in New York City, a 2022 Cadillac Escalade and several high-end watches.
3. Coffee shop or restaurant: Between 2023 and 2025, he allegedly took $150,000 from another person for a supposed coffee shop or Mexican restaurant investment. He also allegedly got that person to sign a lease on a Michigan City, Indiana, residence for him by promising to repay $300,000. Prosecutors say he repaid nothing.
4. Taxes: He is accused of trying to evade income taxes and willfully failing to file returns for 2020 through 2023.

The person charged

Jawad Fakroune, 45 (also known as "Angelino Escobar," "Anjelino Escobar," "Angelo Escobar," "Giovanni Escobar" and "Angelo Baldini") [1]

• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
• Charges: seven counts of wire fraud, four counts of tax evasion and four counts of failing to file income tax returns.
• Investigation: IRS Criminal Investigation and FBI Chicago; prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Hennessy and Richard M. Rothblatt.

Separate extortion conviction

In a separate case, a federal jury in Chicago convicted Fakroune in 2026 on two extortion counts for threatening and assaulting a Chicago restaurateur over repayment of a roughly $405,000 loan, according to IRS Criminal Investigation. On June 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah sentenced him to 78 months in federal prison [2]. That conviction does not decide the fraud and tax charges described above.

Red flags

• Exotic or cash-heavy ventures (cannabis grows, shipping containers) pitched by an individual, with no company paperwork.
• Someone using several names. Search every name you're given.
• Requests to sign a lease or loan in your name for the promoter's benefit.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Search court records and news for the promoter's name and any aliases.
2. Never sign a lease or loan for someone else in exchange for promised investment returns.
3. Report investment fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Jawad Fakroune, 45 (fraud/tax case)	N.D. Ill.	Indicted Aug. 26, 2025 (7 counts wire fraud, 4 counts tax evasion, 4 counts failure to file); no later outcome found in public sources as of Oct. 16, 2026	[1]
Jawad Fakroune (separate extortion case)	N.D. Ill. (Judge Shah)	Convicted by jury on two extortion counts; sentenced June 30, 2026, to 78 months	[2]

An indictment is an accusation, not evidence of guilt.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Man Indicted on Federal Fraud and Tax Charges for Allegedly Defrauding Individuals out of $2.6 Million and Evading Income Taxes," Aug. 28, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/man-indicted-federal-fraud-and-tax-charges-allegedly-defrauding-individuals-out-26
2. IRS Criminal Investigation, "Man sentenced to six and a half years in prison for extorting money from Chicago restaurateur," July 7, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/man-sentenced-to-six-and-a-half-years-in-prison-for-extorting-money-from-chicago-restaurateur

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