COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A third man was found guilty Friday in a plot to illegally rent houses he did not own in Beverly and Morgan Park.
Torrez Moore, 57, was convicted by a jury of theft, financial institution fraud and continuing a financial crimes enterprise. He faces a sentence of six to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
Moore is one of four men charged in a scheme that dates to 2012 involving dozens of homes on the Far Southwest Side. Accomplice David Farr, 45, was convicted last month. Raymond Tribble still awaits trial, while Tribble's son, Arshad Thomas, took a plea deal in March.
Prosecutors said previously that Moore and Farr consider themselves Sovereigns or Moors and thus do not recognize the U.S. government. As a part of this belief, they also think banks should not be allowed to own homes.
Armed with this theory, the men filed paperwork with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office. Those involved in the plot would then break into homes, change the locks and post "No Trespassing" signs.
Other squatters then moved into the homes, and some paid rent to the men behind the scheme. A few of the illegal tenants even went as far as planting flowers outside the homes they were illegally occupying and signing up for utilities, Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said.
"We should not be arrested, or even put in jail, for beautifying vacant properties across the city," Farr told a judge on July 22, 2015.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said last year most of the renters knew they were living in the homes illegally. And many refused to leave when police asked them to, prosecutors said.
O'Shea said the investigation was prompted by complaints from area residents who noticed suspicious activities in the houses, many of which were unoccupied after going into foreclosure.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
