Crime & Safety
Plainfield Couple Scammed Retiree Out of $50,000: Lawsuit
A Wheeling man said he was taken for $50,000 by a man and woman with whom he had entered into a business deal.
A retired man claiming a Plainfield couple rooked him out of $50,000 is suing them in Will County court.
"He just basically stole my money," William O'Donovan, a 69-year-old Wheeling man, said of Plainfield resident Robert McAvoy.
O'Donovan, who said he is a retired Chicago cop, is suing both McAvoy and a woman he identified as McAvoy's girlfriend, Darcey Folkerts.
O'Donovan's lawsuit also named as defendants Mega Cash Flow Investments Inc. and Buy Right Homes Network Inc. Both companies have the same listed address on Williamsburg Drive in Plainfield.
According to O'Donovan's lawsuit, McAvoy owned Mega Cash Flow Investments and Buy Right Homes Network, and Folkerts was an officer with both companies.
Mega Cash Flow Investments was "involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State" in November 2007, the lawsuit said, but still keeps offices on Williamsburg Drive and "purports to be actively engaged in real estate investment activities."
Buy Right Homes Network likewise "purports to be actively engaged in real estate investment activities," the suit said.
Calls to the listed number for Mega Flow Cash Investments went to an answering machine. The message on the machine identified a man whose name is neither McAvoy nor Folkerts. Messages left on the answering machine were not returned.
Calls to the listed number for Buy Right Homes Network went to a recording that said the line has been disconnected or is no longer in service.
O'Donovan said he was introduced to McAvoy through a friend in 2007.
"He's a bad actor," O'Donovan said of McAvoy, telling how he did not realize it at the time.
"I feel like I did my homework on the guy," he said, adding that McAvoy is a "smooth-talker."
O'Donovan told how he entered into a real estate deal with McAvoy and Folkerts. He invested $50,000 for a property in Hickory Hills, he said, and was promised a 14 percent annual return.
But McAvoy cashed his check and—along with Folkerts—made himself scarce.
"I spent about a year and a half trying to chase him down," said O'Donovan, who called McAvoy and Folkerts a "couple of scumbags."
McAvoy said he is no longer on good terms with the friend who introduced him to McAvoy and Folkerts.
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