Yorkville Real Estate Agent Michelle Labra, Charged With a $23 Million Ponzi Scheme, Pleaded Guilty in 2019

Case from 2018–2021 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 21, 2018; 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.

Michelle Labra, owner of Aurora-based Labra Group Realtors LLC, who was charged in 2018 with running a $23 million Ponzi scheme, changed her plea in December 2019, and the court entered judgment against her, according to the federal court docket [2]. The length of her sentence was not available in the public records we could access.

What prosecutors alleged

According to the December 2018 indictment, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The pitch: Labra said investor money would fund short-term, high-interest loans to borrowers, secured by their homes, paying investors their principal, a service fee and at least 14% interest.
2. No borrowers: She never entered into any agreements with borrowers.
3. Where it went: From 2009 to 2015 she took in $23 million from at least 25 investors, spent about $19.6 million on Ponzi-type payments to earlier investors and took more than $3.3 million for herself, including jewelry and trips to Jamaica, Mexico and Guatemala.
4. Blaming the IRS: When investors wanted their money, she allegedly claimed IRS agents had seized funds from Labra Group's accounts. The IRS had issued no levies.

The person charged

Michelle Labra, of Yorkville, Ill. (47 when indicted)

• Indictment (Dec. 20, 2018): three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration [1].
• Plea (Dec. 4, 2019): change-of-plea hearing held, according to the docket [2].
• Judgment: The case was terminated Feb. 24, 2021, and an amended judgment was entered Oct. 12, 2021. We could not find the sentence terms in public sources.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago, IRS Criminal Investigation and TIGTA.

Red flags

• Fixed high returns (14% or more) from loans you never see documents for.
• No names, addresses or mortgage records for the supposed borrowers.
• Excuses blaming the IRS, a bank or a government agency for why you can't get your money.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Ask for recorded mortgages or liens proving your money is secured by real property, and verify them with the county recorder.
2. Contact the IRS directly if someone says an IRS levy froze your money.
3. Report suspected Ponzi schemes to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Michelle Labra, Yorkville, Ill.	N.D. Ill.	Indicted Dec. 20, 2018; changed plea Dec. 4, 2019; judgment entered (amended judgment Oct. 12, 2021); sentence terms not found in public sources	[1], [2]

If you have a public record of the sentence, write to us at the address below.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Kendall County Real Estate Professional Charged with Operating $23 Million Ponzi Scheme," Dec. 21, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/kendall-county-real-estate-professional-charged-operating-23-million-ponzi-scheme
2. CourtListener, docket for United States v. Labra (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8458839/united-states-v-labra/

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