Chicago Man Sentenced to 30 Months for $2 Million Investment Fraud

CHICAGO — Raymond Echavez Villamor was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for defrauding a suburban Chicago resident of $2 million through a fraudulent investment solicitation, the Justice Department announced on May 6, 2026.

The scheme targeted one individual in Glenview, Illinois. Villamor obtained the full $2 million from the victim by misrepresenting the nature and intended use of the funds. The loss equals 100 percent of the amount invested by that single victim.

The sentence replaces any prior release or probation status with immediate incarceration. Villamor must serve the term in a Bureau of Prisons facility, followed by a period of supervised release. The court also ordered full restitution of $2 million, payable to the victim. The sentencing occurred in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Downstream, the restitution judgment creates an enforceable debt that the Justice Department can collect through civil remedies or asset forfeiture proceedings if Villamor possesses recoverable property. The Bureau of Prisons must designate a facility and calculate release dates based on the May 2026 sentencing.

Federal probation officers will assume responsibility for the post-release term once incarceration ends. The case adds to the department's tally of resolved individual fraud matters that trigger mandatory victim notification under the Crime Victims' Rights Act.

This sentencing concludes a prosecution opened after the victim's complaint. The Justice Department has pursued similar individual fraud cases in the Northern District of Illinois, where U.S. Attorney's Office data show repeated use of wire-fraud and securities-fraud statutes against defendants who solicit investments from Illinois residents.

The $2 million loss matches the scale of several other resolved matters in the district over the past five years that produced multi-year prison terms and full restitution orders.