Libertyville banker accused of fraud

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:04AM

Editor’s Note: Ray Campo’s affiliation has been corrected to MVGBS.US. Also corrected is the fact Bank of America is a respondent in discovery, not a defendant, in the suit.

A Bank of America mortgage specialist is one of several money managers and financial entities named in a lawsuit claiming defendants teamed up to defraud investors of thousands of dollars.

Michael Spies allegedly used his position as a home loan manager at a Libertyville Bank of America branch to hone in on individuals seeking financing for real estate projects, according to a suit filed late last week in Cook County Circuit Court.

The suit claims once “potential victims” were identified, Spies lured them into a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by him and others.

Plaintiff Brent Meder claims he was one of those victims. He is manager of LKAL, the other plaintiff in the suit. In early 2010, Meder sought a funding stream to help purchase a property in Chicago. Meder maintained accounts with Bank of America, which is how he came to know Spies, according to the suit.

The suit claims Spies’ solution to his funding problem didn’t involve the bank, but he told Meder he could help secure funds to buy the Near West Side property in Chicago with help from others outside the bank.

The suit says Spies led Meder to a funding mechanism steered by New York-based Master Vision Group USA and Utah company Sovren Management. New Yorker Ray Campo, “purportedly the international financial executive officer of MVG,” is a defendant in the suit, along with Sovren’s manager, Utah resident Russell Robinson.

Fee agreement

On Feb. 20, 2010, Meder signed a client fee agreement with MVG on behalf of LKAL and paid $11,500 in processing and commitment fees. Spies executed the agreement in a paid consulting capacity as manager of William Michaels Financial Partners, another defendant in the suit.

Sovren issued a funding commitment in March 2010 stipulating Meder would get his loan in 30 to 45 days, the suit says. Meder claims all Campo and MVG did was put Meder’s money in Sovren’s hands and into Robinson’s pockets.

Meder also alleges he paid more than $8,000 in legal fees and other expenses associated with what he thought would be an eventual property purchase.

From March 2010 to date, Spies, Campo and Robinson have repeatedly offered false promises that funding was “imminent,” while giving fictitious excuses and failing to refund fees, according to the suit.

The six-count suit seeks monetary compensation for damages exceeding $30,000, and claims racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment and breach of contract.

Campo’s name and contact information appear in a Web domain registry as the primary administrative, business and technical contact for www.mvgbs.us. When contacted, he said he did not know about the suit and declined to comment. He also declined to say if he was in any way involved with MVG or MVGBS.

Bank of America is named in the suit as a respondent in discovery because of Spies’ employment with the company. The suit doesn’t mention any other Bank of America involvement. Bank spokeswoman Diane Wagner declined to comment, citing company rules against commenting on pending litigation.

Defendants in the suit — Spies, Robinson, Sovren and William Michaels Financial Partners — could not be reached for comment.