(Above) A courtroom at Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith.

By Peter von Buol

21-Oct-23 – Attorneys for a group of Chinese investors still awaiting the return of $27.5 million they had lent to a pair of real estate developers – who had sought to build a still-born 60-story high-rise on Chicago’s Near North Side – are demanding the failed developers be held in contempt of federal court orders.

Filing on behalf of the Chinese investors, attorney Glen J. Dunn, Jr. presented significant evidence the developers, Jeffrey Laytin and Jason Ding, continue to own revenue-producing assets and continue to move money around among their corporate entities.

“Defendants and their counsel are evasive and non-responsive regarding assets in long and protracted citation proceedings, particularly where a history of obfuscatory, dilatory, and false statements to the court have already occurred,” wrote Dunn (left) in his federal court filing on September 19.

The investors had originally lent the pair their money through the federal EB-5 visa program. Foreigners participate in this program by making a significant financial investment in projects based in the United States. The investments mean they are fast-tracked toward permanent U.S. resident status, commonly referred to as obtaining a Green Card.

One year after a financial backer in the Middle East turned out to be a mirage, Laytin and Ding told the court they had found yet another investor, Corban Capital Partners (CCP).

That company has a rudimentary website that bears resemblance to not only the website of Symmetry Property Development, the company owned by Laytin and Ding, but also to their phantom Middle Eastern investor.

(Right) Home page of Corban Capital Partners’ website. (Click on image to view larger version.)

“Corban Capital Partners is a division of Corban Financial Group, LLC, which has provided investment banking and financial advisory services to clients since 1996,” according to information posted on CCP’s corporate website. “Corban, or Korban, is a Hebrew word meaning the dedication of a gift or sacrifice to God. It is our goal to be dedicated to the core of what that means: integrity, professionalism, responsibility to our stakeholders, and an awareness of our relationships in the hands of an almighty creator, Lord, and God.”

Similar to what they had done previously, Laytin and Ding’s attorney told the court the loan will allow them to pay off their debts and move forward on a new proposal to build a high-rise adjacent to the original site near Superior Street & Wabash Avenue in River North.

(Left in photo) Rendering by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP of The Carillon, which would have replaced George A. Tripp House (right in photo) at 42 East Superior Street, along with 44 and 46 East Superior Street.

Dunn asked the court, on behalf of his clients, to hold Laytin and Ding accountable, along with their attorney, Daniel Hildebrand, and associate Peter Shirk.

“[The] plaintiffs pray this honorable court enter an order requiring Shirk, Laytin, Ding, and Hildebrand to appear, in person, before this court, to provide a rule to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt for violating the orders of this court,” wrote Dunn.

Eighty-nine investors are out, collectively, $50 million

Eight years ago, the investors had lent their money to build a 60-story high-rise on the Near North Side. The City of Chicago rejected that plan. Subsequently, the properties were incorporated into Chicago’s Near North Multiple Property Landmark District.

Each investor lent $550,000 to fund construction of what would have been known as Carillon Tower. A total of 89 Chinese real estate investors lent Laytin and Ding a total of $50 million.

For most of those participating in EB-5 projects, their investment is a substantial portion of their life’s savings and were they to stay in China, that country does not have a social security program.

Assets owned by Laytin and Ding include ReEnergize USA, LLC, which owns land and a warehouse in northern Indiana and generates monthly rental income for its property owners.

“It makes consistent monthly distributions to the TD Bank account of Symmetry Property Development II LLC, which then sends the money to defendants Laytin and Ding in the name of Ding’s father. Ding is the sole beneficiary and controller of his [Chinese-based] father’s account,” wrote attorney Doug Litowitz (right), who along with Dunn represents the Chinese investors, in an earlier filing.

At one time, Laytin and Ding also owned significant parcels of property in Chicago and Hawaii. While some of these have been lost to foreclosure, during recent depositions, Laytin and Ding insisted they still hold interests in properties in those locations.

“Plaintiffs cannot find any law or fact that vests the defendants with any right to any real estate in Chicago or Hawaii. Regardless, [Laytin and Ding] insisted in their depositions that they [still] hold real estate interests in these parcels, and that the equity exceeds their debt. If this is true, then the land does have some value,” wrote Litowitz in March.

Laytin and Ding had paid a $600,000 fee to a third-party loan facilitator for services that were never rendered. Should that fee be returned to Laytin and Ding, as ordered, Litowitz added his clients are entitled to that money.

“The defendants had told this court that they paid over $600,000 to facilitate the Middle East loan, which the Special Master found to be a fraud,” wrote Litowitz in a March filing, referring to the court-appointed official assigned in 2022 to investigate the location of the unreturned funds. “As the victims of fraud (and/or broken contracts), the defendants have a claim against the person whom they paid but did not perform. The claims against such third persons must be assigned to the plaintiffs.”

During his deposition, Ding revealed he lives in an office, earns no income, and only has $700 in liquid assets.

“Everything he owns, all his leases, cars, and other assets are held in the name of his father [an electrical engineer based in China] pursuant to a supposed power of attorney. Ding’s income and property statement show his residence as 1925 North Fairfield Avenue [in Chicago], but title in that two-flat is held in the name of Ding’s mother, Zhiling Pang,” added Litowitz.

For more than two years, Laytin and Ding have told Senior U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras (left) and U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim of the Northern District of Illinois they need more time to return the money lent to them by the Chinese investors.

In March, Litowitz questioned a filing by Hildebrand, the attorney representing Laytin and Ding.

“Defendants are in no position to ask for delays in collection given the history of this case. To recall, the defendants defaulted on their promise to pay the $27 million class settlement agreement due on May 7, 2021; they defaulted on their promise to pay the $1.65 million in penalties under the class settlement agreement by January 13, 2023; they defaulted on payment of their consent judgment of $27.5 million; they delayed this court for a year with stories of a fabricated loan from the Middle East and delayed paying the Special Master until Magistrate Kim threatened sanctions; and they currently owe $200,000 to each of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Dunn and Litowitz,” wrote Litowitz.

Repayment plan quickly stalled

After having been ordered to do so in September 2022, Laytin and Ding appeared to have begun the court-ordered process of paying back their investors. However, by November 2022, Laytin and Ding failed to make a court-ordered payment of $100,000 to their investors. That payment was supposed to have been the first of three consecutive monthly payments of $100,000 each.

On November 10, 2022, arguably using yet another stall tactic, the pair sent $20,000 into an incorrect bank account.

Because they had paid a portion of the amount due, the defendants were therefore granted an automatic ten-day grace period to pay the remaining $80,000 balance of that scheduled payment. Once they failed to make that payment, the plaintiffs resumed their citation to discover the defendants’ assets.

Laytin and Ding owe the remaining sum of $27 million, as well as any additional charges that have since accumulated.

While the failed tower would have been built by Laytin’s New York-based Symmetry, the Chinese investors had lent their money to Laytin and Ding as individuals. Upon receipt of their investors’ money, both had signed documents stating they would be held personally responsible, not the corporation.

If built, the tower would have replaced a series of historic 19th century rowhouses at 43-46 East Superior Street that in 2020 were included in a landmark district. The Near North Side Multiple Property Landmark District includes a total of 15 residential buildings, all built shortly after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The district includes a noncontiguous group of single-family homes, rowhouses, and apartment buildings that represent the early redevelopment of the Near North Side.

(Above) Locations of the 15 buildings in the Near North Side Multiple Property Landmark District. 1 - 642 North Dearborn Street, 2 - 17 East Erie Street, 3 - 14 West Erie Street, 4 - 110 West Grand Avenue, 5 - 1 East Huron Street, 6 - 671 North State Street, 7 - 9 East Huron Street, 8 - 10 East Huron Street, 9 - 16 West Ontario Street, 10 - 18 West Ontario Street, 11 - 212 East Ontario Street, 12 - 222 East Ontario Street, 13 - 716 North Rush Street, 14 - 42 East Superior Street, 15 - 44-46 East Superior Street.

• Previous story: Failed River North developers delay return of $27.5M to Chinese investors