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Wrigley Rooftop Owner Indicted, Accused of Hiding Money From Cubs, City

By Ariel Cheung | March 27, 2015 9:38am | Updated on March 30, 2015 8:36am
 The cold winter delayed work on the bleachers at Wrigley Field, and officials said the left field bleachers will not be functional until May 11. Steel workers were assembling beams for the left field bleachers and video board on Monday, March 2, 2015, one month before Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs. Renovations have been ongoing since the end of last season.
The cold winter delayed work on the bleachers at Wrigley Field, and officials said the left field bleachers will not be functional until May 11. Steel workers were assembling beams for the left field bleachers and video board on Monday, March 2, 2015, one month before Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs. Renovations have been ongoing since the end of last season.
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Ariel Cheung/DNAinfo Chicago

WRIGLEYVILLE — The owner of a rooftop club behind Wrigley Field's bleachers has been indicted for withholding revenue-sharing money from the Chicago Cubs, and tax dollars from the city, county and state, federal officials announced Friday.

R. Marc Hamid was named in the indictment. He is the owner of Skybox on Sheffield, a rooftop club at 3627 N. Sheffield Ave., behind the right field bleachers. He's accused of underreporting revenue figures from 2008 to 2011 by more than $1.5 million.

Attempts to reach Hamid for comment were unsuccessful. Co-owner Jeffrey Goby was not named in the indictment and did not respond to a request for comment.

Hamid is accused of using about $600,000 of unlawfully withheld funds to pay for his personal and business expenses. A grand jury charged Hamid with four counts of criminal mail fraud for the annual royalty statements sent to the Cubs from 2008 to 2011.

 Fans watch the Cubs play from rooftops in Wrigleyville.
Fans watch the Cubs play from rooftops in Wrigleyville.
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David Banks/Getty Images

If Hamid does not forfeit the $600,000, the federal government can seize his share of the Skybox on Sheffield business and the 3627 N. Sheffield Ave. property, court records state.

The indictment accuses Hamid of scheming to defraud the Cubs and government agencies through various means, including filing false tax returns with Cook County, Chicago and the state.

In some instances, Hamid would alter or ask his employees to alter Skybox on Sheffield invoices to reflect $0 in revenue, as opposed to the hundreds or thousands of dollars the customers paid, according to the federal indictment filed Thursday. He would also exceed the 200-person maximum capacity, but falsely stated the attendance figures in the annual royalty statements he was required to send to the Cubs, officials said.

After the Cubs audited Skybox on Sheffield, Hamid also created or helped create false documents to cover his tracks, the indictment states.

For each count of mail fraud, Hamid faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a total fine of up to $1.2 million.

The indictment comes as Hamid and other rooftop owners are fighting the Cubs in a separate, civil case in which the owners accused the Cubs of violating their 20-year agreement, attempted monopolization and deceptive business practices.

Most recently, the rooftop owners attempted and failed to block the installation of video boards and signage at Wrigley Field they said would block their customers' views and destroy their businesses.

It's also not the first time Hamid has been accused of fraud. In January 2013, MB Financial sued the Skybox on Sheffield owners for defaulting on four loans totaling $7.65 million, according to the Chicago Tribune. The largest loan was $4.6 million borrowed in 2005.

The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the team.

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