A Palos Hills businessman was indicted Tuesday on federal charges accusing him of defrauding investors out of at least $3.6 million in a scheme involving a purported precious metals refining business, according to a federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Awad Odeh, 41, of Palos Hills, faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, the indictment states. No arraignment date has been scheduled.
Prosecutors allege Odeh operated North American Refinery, a Bridgeview-based company claiming to refine precious metals. From 2017 through 2020, Odeh solicited investments by falsely promising guaranteed annual returns between 10 and 50 percent, according to court documents.
The investment agreements Odeh signed with investors promised returns tied to NAR’s gross profits or fixed annualized rates. They also included Odeh’s personal guarantee to repay investors if NAR defaulted, the indictment says.
To convince investors, Odeh provided fraudulent documents portraying NAR as financially stable and able to meet its obligations. However, the indictment reveals that investor funds were not used for the refinery business.
Instead, Odeh diverted money for personal expenses, to enrich family members, and to finance Apex Motorworks, a separate car company he owned and operated in Burr Ridge, Illinois, prosecutors allege.
Odeh controlled multiple bank accounts linked to NAR, including Woodforest National Bank, Lakeside Bank, and Huntington Bank accounts. Prosecutors say he used these accounts to receive millions of dollars in wire transfers from at least 13 investors.
The indictment details specific wire transfers made between April and December 2020, all under false pretenses that the funds would be used for precious metals acquisition or refining.
Odeh also made sporadic payments to investors to maintain the illusion of legitimacy, a tactic prosecutors say was designed to keep the scheme going.
In one instance, Odeh used $150,000 from investor funds to purchase a cashier’s check, which he then used to pay another investor, a classic example of a Ponzi-like scheme, according to the indictment.
The charges and details of the case were announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros, FBI Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas S. DePodesta, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Ramsey E. Covington, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino. Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri is prosecuting the case.
Federal law presumes Odeh innocent until proven guilty at trial.