Ruben Espinoza Facing Lawsuits and Foreclosures

Just as one lawsuit clears up for Ruben Espinoza, another one takes its place.

The Florida-based real estate investor is currently involved in at least six ongoing lawsuits related to his business dealings in the Chicago area while facing default judgments in two others.

Here’s a breakdown of his active and recently resolved legal disputes related to Chicago-area commercial property deals.

Partners turn on each other at 300 West Adams

Espinoza and Chicago-based investor Igor Gabal scored the deal of a lifetime in late 2023 when they bought a struggling office building at 300 West Adams for $4 million or $17 a foot.

But after successfully fighting off a legal challenge from a pair of investors who claimed they were cut out of a deal to buy the building, Espinoza and Gabal turned on each other.

Espinoza filed a lawsuit against Gabal in May, claiming he had mishandled a $6.2 million insurance payout and should no longer have access to their shared bank accounts.

As the legal drama dragged on over the past year, Gabal’s defense requested that a judge dismiss the lawsuit altogether because he claimed that Espinoza has been exhibiting the same behavior that he is accusing Gabal of engaging in.

Gabal claimed in a filing last month that Espinoza should not be granted sole access to their shared bank accounts because he has allegedly siphoned off $1.5 million without Gabal’s consent.

The lawsuit is still pending in Cook County Circuit Court.

Espinoza didn’t return a request for comment and neither did his attorneys regarding this dispute or any others mentioned in this story.

Lender wins receiver request amid a $68M foreclosure dispute

If Espinoza has any hope of hanging onto a portfolio of Southwest Side commercial buildings, it is likely dwindling.

Last month, a judge appointed receiver Scott Shefman of Friedman Real Estate Management to take control of Espinoza’s portfolio of two commercial buildings amid an ongoing foreclosure dispute filed by Wilmington National Trust.

Espinoza has defaulted on $68 million in mortgage debts he took on for commercial complexes on Chicago’s Southwest Side, according to Wilmington.

He allegedly owes more than $43 million, including interest and fees, for the Chicago Business Center, a 661,000-square-foot mixed-use building with office space and a distribution facility at 2600 West 35th Street.

The remaining $24 million he owes is tied to a 110,000-square-foot distribution center just across the Chicago River to the northwest, at 2455 South Damen Avenue.

Indian Lakes Hotel heads to court for a second time

Espinoza’s plans to revive a storied suburban hotel along with hospitality magnate Robert Habeeb quickly went south last year when lender CRE Bridge Capital foreclosed on the property, alleging that the pair of investors had defaulted on a $3.5 million bridge loan on the property known as The Indian Lakes Hotel.

Soon after, the lender sold the vacant hotel to the village of Bloomingdale for $5 million.

But Espinoza and Habeeb’s involvement with the hotel didn’t end there.

The pair are suing CRE Bridge Capital, led by Daniel Sobelman, in a complaint filed last month alleging that the lender never had the legal standing to file the foreclosure and ultimately sell the property.

Espinoza and Habeeb allege payment statements CRE Bridge Capital issued to the borrowers were “untimely, inaccurate and in some cases, incomprehensible.”

As a result, CRE Bridge Capital “manufactured a breach of loan agreement … to seize Plaintiff’s real estate in a collusive UCC sale for a pittance,” Espinoza and Habeeb argue.

The lawsuit claims the property could have been worth up to $70 million after Espinoza and Habeeb completed their redevelopment plans.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 14.

A state senator’s property tax law firm scores a win

Espinoza’s legal troubles entered the political realm earlier this year.

State Sen. Robert F. Martwick Jr., who represents Illinois’ 10th Senate District filed a lawsuit against Espinoza earlier in July for failing to pay Martwick’s law firm, Finkel, Martwick & Colson.

Martwick’s firm claimed it was owed more than $1 million by Espinoza and his real estate ventures.

The law firm netted property tax savings for the landlord at big Chicago buildings, all of which are now subject to foreclosure proceedings. Finkel’s contracts with Espinoza, which were signed by Martwick, pertain to its tax work for each of the last four years, according to the complaint filed in Cook County court in July.

In October, a judge issued a default order, requiring Espinoza to pay the law firm $631,000 in damages.

Another portfolio faces foreclosure

In another foreclosure case, Espinoza is fighting back.

He is facing a foreclosure lawsuit over a $9.6 million loan he took on for a set of River North loft office buildings at 215-223 West Ohio Street.

Rialto Capital filed the foreclosure in March, but rather than give up the keys, Espinoza is disputing the foreclosure.

The case is still pending.

A commercial tenant claims fraud

For the second time, a commercial tenant is claiming Espinoza took a deposit and first month’s rent but never allowed them to move in.

Produce wholesaler Galfresh Produce signed a lease with Espinoza to move into one of his commercial spaces but, the company alleges in a June lawsuit, it was never granted access to the space.

The Damen avenue commercial building is the same property currently being foreclosed on by Wilmington Trust.

Galfresh is suing Espinoza in an effort to recoup its $98,000 deposit and the $49,000 the company put down as first month’s rent.

The dispute mirrors a similar lawsuit filed by a local soccer club last year that claimed Espinoza also took a deposit and first month of rent for a space that was occupied by another tenant who had no plans to move out. That case was dismissed without prejudice but re-filed in October 2025 with the soccer club’s lawyer alleging it still hadn’t been paid back.

In October, a judge ordered Espinoza pay Galfresh back but Espinoza is fighting that order, claiming he was never properly served.

A personal loan goes unpaid

As Espinoza forged ahead in his other legal battles, he was hit with another filing December 5.

An entity known as Ohio Street Investments claims that Espinoza has failed to pay back a $350,000 personal loan that Ohio Street Investments issued to him in late 2022.

The case is pending.