Chicago Real Estate Broker Stanislav 'Steve' Sannikov Sentenced to 4 Years for Fake-Escrow Property Scheme

Case from 2025 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: April 9, 2025). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Stanislav "Steve" Sannikov, 42, a Chicago real estate broker who owned Chestnut Realty Group, was sentenced in February 2025 to four years and two months in federal prison for a scheme that cost at least four investors more than $3 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. On April 4, 2025, the judge ordered him to pay $2.19 million in remaining restitution to four victims.

How the scheme worked

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1]:

1. Properties that weren't for sale: From 2016 to 2020, Sannikov told investors certain properties were for sale and that he could negotiate the purchases for them.
2. Promised profits: He said the properties could be resold or leased at a substantial profit, though he knew they weren't available for sale or lease.
3. Fake escrow: He had investors deposit "earnest money" into what he called an escrow account at Chestnut Realty. The company wasn't licensed as an escrow agent, and the account was actually a checking account he controlled.
4. Lavish spending: He withdrew the money and spent it on himself.

One victim, now in his 70s, had to delay retirement to cover his losses, according to the release.

The person sentenced

Stanislav "Steve" Sannikov, 42, Chicago [1]

• Plea: pleaded guilty in 2024 to wire fraud.
• Sentence: four years and two months in federal prison, imposed in February 2025 by U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow; $2.19 million in remaining restitution ordered April 4, 2025.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago Field Office.

"This was not a one-time lapse in judgment," prosecutors wrote in the government's sentencing memorandum, according to the release [1].

Red flags

• Earnest money paid into the broker's own account instead of a licensed title company or escrow agent.
• "Off-market" deals you can't confirm with the owner or public records.
• Promises of quick resale profits before you've closed.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Use a licensed title or escrow company you choose and verify independently.
2. Check property ownership with the county recorder before sending money.
3. Verify the broker's license with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (or your state regulator), and report fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Stanislav "Steve" Sannikov, 42, Chicago	N.D. Ill. (Judge Lefkow)	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud (2024); sentenced Feb. 2025 to 4 years 2 months; $2.19M remaining restitution ordered April 4, 2025	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Chicago Real Estate Broker Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Bilking Investors out of More Than $3 Million," April 9, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-real-estate-broker-sentenced-more-four-years-prison-bilking-investors-out-more

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