“Sultan” has historically meant king or wise, all-powerful ruler, but in this case, an accountant by the name of Sultan Issa is a classic scam artist.
Sultan Issa was sentenced on August 31, 2020 to 16 1/2 years in federal prison. He swindled more than $70 million from wealthy Chicago families including three former hockey stars. He used the money to buy residences, high-end cars and private jets.
Wheedling into Position
They said that Sultan Issa was a charmer. He started his climb to power as the personal accountant to wealthy philanthropist Roger Weston, who had made his fortune in banking. Issa started stealing from Weston as early as 2010. As personal accountant, he started forging Weston’s signature and gained control of Weston’s assets for his own use. He secured millions in loans for himself. Issa was able, among other schemes, to secure a Lamborghini dealership for himself.
From the theft of Weston’s account Issa then charmed his way into convincing other investors he would be a wizard with their money as well. For example, he stole $500,000 from a widow (all of her late husband’s savings), and then he scammed several other investors including former Chicago Blackhawks players.
How did Issa wheedle his way into so many situations? One of his ploys was his so-called charitable organization where he launched food drives, community events – and invited the wealthy athletes. He gained their trust.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood characterized Issa’s misconduct as startling in its scope. He approached his victims with one money-making scheme after another.
“There doesn’t seem to have been any motive here except greed,” Judge Wood said.
In a tearful statement to the court, Issa said he was “overwhelmingly ashamed” of his actions.
As for Issa, as he was about to be sentenced, he said “I just don’t recognize that man as myself. I now recognize that I lost my soul. I lost all sense of respect and human decency.”
Prosecution Unmoved
Despite Sultan Issa’s claims of seeing a psychiatrist, being on “medication,” and claiming to have been working to pay off his debts, the prosecution stood unmoved; they asked for a sentence of 25 years. He was repeatedly characterized as a manipulator who was devoid of any ethics. He financially ruined many families.
Roger Weston testified that Issa “was a master of making people like and trust him.” He had no conscience as he drained bank accounts and falsified financial statements to make it appear as though the accounts were earning money.
“It’s what Sultan does best,” Weston said. “If you steal from family and people who trust you the most, you are the worst kind of evil in the world.”
Issa took the money he stole to “buy 25 residential properties in Illinois, Montana, Michigan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as well as two private jets, four yachts, about 60 firearms, art and antiques and numerous watches and jewelry.”
Yet, the question remains as to how Issa could have gotten away with so many crimes. How come no one did any due-diligence. Interestingly, the judge noted that Issa had a loving family and many friends. He did what he did because it became a game. He wanted his toys. His toys were the way he measured his worth as a person.
No Oversite, Only Opportunity
As with many scam artists, Sultan Issa was able to do what he did because there was no oversite. He seized upon the opportunity (initially of Weston’s massive account) to steal. All he had to do was to forge a signature. Though a CPA with annual ethics requirements, the lure of money, and the power it could buy, was much more addictive than “being ethical.”
Unless there are checks and balances – literally, investors set themselves up for fraudsters such as Issa. While I am not suggesting that a small firm, or even a single accountant, is incapable of managing the wealth of a client or several clients, unless there is a constant review and auditing process, this kind of situation can take hold.
I’ve already established that Issa needed power and “toys.” The money became irrelevant and secondary to how he must have felt in accumulating expensive objects. I doubt if he ever offered himself a rationalization for his actions. Perhaps, somewhere, he mused about paying people back or it could have been a case of feeling ethically numb to the world.
Issa’s sentence is really the least of it. He may possibly feel relieved his scam is over. The real sentence falls on the shoulders of the victims. One question that begs to be asked is if, in addition to ethical training, CPA’s should be subject to psychological screening as well?
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