(Source: beverlyreview.net) A third of four men charged last year with squatting in several Beverly/Morgan Park homes has been found guilty.

Torrez Moore, 57, was convicted on Oct. 21 of Class X theft, Class X financial institution fraud and continuing a financial crimes enterprise following a three-day trial at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, 2600 S. California Ave.

Moore, along with David Farr, was charged in July 2015; that December, Raymond Trimble and Arshad Thomas were also charged.

According to a news release from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, prosecutors said the men “engaged in a pattern of illegal activity in which they unlawfully claimed foreclosed or vacant properties as their own and either moved into the property themselves, or rented the home to a third party and acted as a landlord. On multiple occasions the defendant unlawfully entered the properties, changed the locks and then filed fraudulent documents with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office to verify alleged ownership of the property.”

Prosecutors also said the men are part of the Sovereign Nation, or Moors, and “claim that they do not recognize the government as having jurisdiction over them, nor do they recognize the authority of most law enforcement agencies.”
Officials said Moore claimed five homes around Chicago, including two in Beverly/Morgan Park: 10821 S. Wood St. and 10929 S. Esmond St.