David Herron's home in North Lawndale has been in his family for more than six decades. Among other repairs, it needs a new roof and a new heating system.

Mark Steven Diamond was sentenced to 17 years in prison after “bilking elderly homeowners in a reverse mortgage and home repair scheme.”

Diamond was sentenced to 205 months—or 17 years and one month—in prison. He was also ordered to pay $2.7 million in restitution.

A man who pleaded guilty of scamming seniors on the city's South and West sides in a reverse mortgage scheme was sentenced Thursday. Mark Diamond was sentenced to 205 months—or 17 years and one month—in prison.

Chicago businessman Mark Diamond victimized elderly, vulnerable homeowners in a years-long scheme with unfulfilled promises to fund repairs.

"Diamond and the co-schemers targeted elderly victims in the Chicago area based on the amount of equity in their homes and their relative lack of financial sophistication," according to the United Sta