By Greg Burns | Developer Scott Toberman, who attracted worldwide attention with a plan
in the late 1990s to build the world’s tallest building in Chicago, was
sentenced Thursday to 64 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud
charges last year.

The 54-year-old Toberman admitted last summer that he skimmed money from
buildings he was supposed to manage for investors. The indictment
accused him of using other people’s funds to support a lavish lifestyle.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo rejected Toberman’s apology to his victims at Thursday’s hearing, saying he doesn’t see “any real sense of remorse.”

The defendant had no financial need for the money he stole, and sought to avoid full responsibility through a “very offensive use of civil litigation,” the judge said. “You’re just a thief, and not a petty thief.”

Victim Harold Gootrad told the judge that his longtime partner stole approximately $10 million, not just the $2 million cited in the plea agreement. “I treated him more like a son. He treated me more like a fool,” the 86-year-old real-estate executive said. “It was really shocking when we first discovered these thefts.”

Toberman never obtained the financing for his proposed 2,000-foot skyscraper at the corner of Madison and Dearborn Streets. A smaller building now stands on the site.