⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit reviews David Izsak's bank-fraud convictions. Izsak was a Chicago real-estate professional, and prosecutors said that from 2005 through 2018 he used false financial information, hid unpaid loans, and filed fictitious lien releases that made mortgaged property look debt-free. The transactions included mortgages, vehicle and boat loans, lines of credit, and credit cards; one financed a fifty-seven-foot yacht called the Flying Lady. A jury convicted him on ten counts, and the district judge sentenced him to five years. On appeal, Izsak says the indictment improperly treated those different transactions, involving fourteen financial institutions, as one thirteen-year scheme. Duplicity means charging two or more distinct offenses in one count; the concern is that jurors may agree on guilt without agreeing on the same offense. Izsak wanted a specific-unanimity instruction; the government says one connected pattern tied the transactions together. He also says filing a false lien release did not execute bank fraud because no new money moved, while the government says it exposed lenders to a new risk of loss. Finally, he argues the evidence did not show CGI Finance was a covered financial institution; the government says its relationship with a foreign bank brought it within the statute.

United States v. David Izsak (No. 25-1545) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 11, 2026.