Posted by Dead Wax Records on July 03, 2009 at 10:46:30:
Rental business sues man accused of scams
July 2, 2009 8:55 PM
A Chicago office space rental company filed suit Thursday against David Hernandez, the Downers Grove businessman facing charges that he scammed investors and Chicago sports radio personalities out of $11 million.
Amata, a Chicago-based office space provider, allege in the lawsuit that the businessman misled the company about the legal status of Nextstep Financial Services, one of the entities Hernandez allegedly used to collect money from investors he then used for personal expenses.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, says that Hernandez made "verbal and written representations" that NextStep Financial Services was an active business, when it had actually been "involuntarily dissolved" 4 1/2 years prior to his rental of Loop office space from Amata.
Hernandez signed three seperate agreements with Amata to rent office space, furniture and equipment for four different companies operated by the businessman. The suit alleges that Hernandez owes Amata more than $250,000 in unpaid rental fees.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Hernandez June 15 with taking money from more than 100 investors in 12 states to supposedly fund a payday-loan business. Instead, regulators claim Hernandez used investors' money for personal expenses and to start ventures like the now-defunct Chicago Sports Webio.
Hernandez went missing after the charges were made public, and was found by police one week later in a Normal hotel after a suicide attempt.