A Chicago businessman who falsely claimed to be the son of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has pleaded guilty to a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme that bilked investors, including a professional basketball player, out of at least $5.7 million.

Jawad Fakroune, already serving a six-and-a-half-year federal sentence for extorting a restaurant business partner, admitted to wire fraud and tax evasion in a plea agreement filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago. He agreed to repay his victims more than $5.7 million, along with back taxes to the IRS and the state of Illinois.

According to the plea deal, Fakroune persuaded an unnamed professional basketball player to invest approximately $2.45 million in 2022, promising the money would fund a shipping-container business and a California marijuana-growing operation. Instead, Fakroune used the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including a residential compound in Lemont, rent on a New York City apartment, designer shopping sprees, luxury watches, and a 2022 Cadillac Escalade purchased for another person.

Another investor, identified as ‘Individual L,’ turned over roughly $2.85 million after being promised a 30% return in just three months. To make the scam appear legitimate, Fakroune showed the investor marijuana packaging he claimed came from the grow operation and staged phone calls with supposed investors.

Fakroune also admitted to failing to file federal income tax returns for five consecutive years, from 2020 through 2024, while raking in at least $8.37 million. Prosecutors calculated the resulting federal and Illinois tax losses at more than $3.3 million.

Under the plea agreement, Fakroune would receive an additional prison term of 12 to 42 months on top of his existing extortion sentence. He has also agreed to forfeit his Lemont property, two Breitling watches, and approximately $120,000 in cash seized by federal agents.

The case drew attention to Fakroune’s connections to Chicago’s political and restaurant elite, including former Pritzker administration aide Lisa Duarte and Illinois Sports Facilities Authority board member Patricia Rooney, though none was accused of wrongdoing.

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times