Investment resentment: Local businessman accused of cheating people with loans, stopping payments

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The ABC7 I-Team is investigating a local businessman accused of cheating people out of tens of thousands of dollars.

The Illinois Attorney General's Office has received several complaints about Brandon Ellington, also known as "Brandon Mr. Finance."

In those complaints, he's accused of convincing people to take out loans and invest in his company, promising large profits in return. When the monthly payments stopped, his clients called the I-Team to investigate.

The I-Team has heard exclusively from more than 10 people across Chicagoland claiming Ellington owes them tens of thousands of dollars.

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Luviner Walker can barely share her story without crying.

Walker said she learned about Brandon Mr. Finance's so called investment program after hearing him on the radio. She says he convinced her to take out loans totaling $50,000 and invest the money with his business. In return, he'd send her monthly payments.

Walker says he promised her a profit of $35,000. She received some monthly payments from Mr. Finance, but she says out of nowhere, he stopped paying.

"I keep trying to reach him to get my money," Walker said. "It's to the point where I might have to do something with my house and move in with my daughter."

Shederick Ricks shared a similar story. He says he got a few payments, and then Mr. Finance stopped paying him, too.

"He put me in a position where I got to work about two to three years, when I was in a position to retire, because I have to pay the bank," Ricks said.

Clients say they thought Mr. Finance was legitimate because of his enticing sales pitch, along with radio and TV promotions.

Melody Woods says she was also duped after taking out a loan and paying Mr. Finance $25,000.

"He's not returning calls. He's blowing smoke," Woods said. "I had no idea that there were so many other people."

Maurice Shelton says he took out a high-interest loan to pay Mr. Finance, and hasn't gotten a dime back. Now, he says it's hard to make ends meet.

"I try to eat three times a day, but sometimes can just get one meal a day now," Shelton said. "I don't know how I'm going to do moving forward."

The Illinois Attorney General's Office told the I-Team it has received several complaints about Mr. Finance.

The Secretary of State's Securities Department says under state law, anyone providing investment advice for compensation must register with their office. Neither Ellington nor his company, Access Capital Today Inc., are currently registered.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias filed a temporary order of prohibition against Ellington and his company, prohibiting him from "acting as an investment advisor or investment advisor representative in or from the state of Illinois... in the public interest and for the protection of the investing public."

Mr. Finance is facing a lawsuit filed by one his clients, accusing him of "targeting the elderly in Chicagoland," and convincing that client to "loan him money" knowing that "only he stood to be enriched." Mr. Finance has not responded to the lawsuit.

Just this week, the I-Team learned some clients received this email from Mr. Finance's company, informing them the company is closing: "Our obligations to you remain a priority, and we are actively making the necessary arrangements to bring proper closure to all outstanding matters... above all, making our partners whole remains paramount."

Stunned by what they know now, the group of consumer aren't sure if they'll ever get the rest of their money back.

In a statement, Ellington told the I-Team, in part, "I'm not interested in litigating this through Channel 7. The claims you say that multiple individuals have made are not true and I do not know why the people you say you have spoken with have chosen to mislead you. They should have told you that I have offered to fully refund every person who has not already completed the program. Except for those who initially rejected my offer. I am already in the process of paying those refunds."

After the I-Team got involved, some people said Brandon Mr. Finance sent them a payment, with a promise of making them whole and sending their balance in the coming weeks.

As for the temporary order of prohibition from the Secretary of State, the I-Team reached out, and Brandon Mr. Finance has not responded to the filing.

To file a consumer complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's office, click here: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/file-a-complaint/

To file consumer complaint with the FBI, click here: https://www.ic3.gov/

Sam is on your side. If you have a problem, call the I-Team at 312-750-7TIP.