Hinsdale CPA Sultan Issa Sentenced to More Than 16 Years for $77 Million Fraud on Family Office, Investors and Banks

Case from 2019–2020 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Sept. 1, 2020). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Sultan Issa, a certified public accountant from Hinsdale, Illinois, was sentenced on Aug. 31, 2020, to 200 months in federal prison for misappropriating more than $77 million from individuals and financial institutions, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood also ordered him to pay more than $72 million in restitution.

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1] [2]:

1. Trusted insider: Issa was the chief financial officer of a group of partnerships, corporations and trusts owned by a Chicago-area family.
2. Embezzlement: From 2010 to 2017 he embezzled at least $45 million of the family's assets, including money from a trust account set up to pay medical expenses for a family member with an incapacitating illness.
3. Outside "investments": He obtained at least another $5.1 million from individuals in his personal capacity by claiming he would invest their money in legitimate opportunities, including a luxury auto dealership he owned in Burr Ridge.
4. Loans built on fraud: He used fraud proceeds to secure fraudulent loans from financial institutions totaling at least $83 million, buying 25 residential properties in Illinois, Montana, Michigan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, two private aircraft, four yachts, about 60 firearms, and watches, jewelry and memorabilia.
5. Cover-up: He gave lenders fraudulent loan documents, forged authorizations to control the family group's funds, created false account statements and made Ponzi-type payments to individual investors.

The person sentenced

Sultan Issa, 47 at sentencing, of Hinsdale, Ill. [1]

• Charge (Feb. 5, 2019): one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, filed by criminal information [2].
• Plea: pleaded guilty in 2020 to wire fraud affecting a financial institution.
• Sentence (Aug. 31, 2020): 200 months in prison and more than $72 million in restitution, imposed by Judge Andrea R. Wood.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago Field Office.

Red flags

• A single person controlling a family's or client's money with no independent audit or second signer.
• Investment pitches from your accountant or CFO in businesses he personally owns.
• Account statements that come only from the person managing the money, not from a bank or custodian.
• A lifestyle that doesn't match the job: aircraft, yachts and multiple vacation homes funded by an employee or adviser.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Require independent statements directly from banks and custodians, and have outside auditors review family-office or trust accounts.
2. Report suspected investment fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.
3. Check professional licenses and disciplinary history for CPAs with your state licensing board before giving them control of funds.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Sultan Issa, Hinsdale, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Wood)	Charged Feb. 5, 2019; pleaded guilty in 2020; sentenced Aug. 31, 2020, to 200 months; more than $72M restitution	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2020; we have not found a source on Issa's current custody status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Former Illinois Accountant Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in Prison for Misappropriating $77 Million From Individuals and Financial Institutions," Sept. 1, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-illinois-accountant-sentenced-more-16-years-prison-misappropriating-77-million
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Illinois Accountant Charged with Fraud for Allegedly Misappropriating More Than $65 Million from Individuals and Financial Institutions," Feb. 5, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/illinois-accountant-charged-fraud-allegedly-misappropriating-more-65-million

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