Chicago Real Estate Program Was $20 Million Ponzi Scam, SEC Says

A purported real estate investment program billed as developing parts of Chicago’s South Side was actually a $20 million Ponzi scheme, the SEC said May 29.

George Slowinski promised about 600 investors they’d receive 38% returns within two years if they put money into his company, Rebuilding America LLC, the Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said. He still owes investors about $17 million, the suit said.

Slowinski “quickly realized” that his business model was “untenable,” but kept soliciting investors anyway, the SEC said. He never told investors that ...