Lender Selling Tribune Tower Condo Tied to Embezzlement

A condo in downtown Chicago’s Tribune Tower is going back up for sale following its previous owner forfeiting it in a 2025 court-ordered sale.

Sameer Suhail, the previous owner and Loretto Hospital medical supply vendor, was indicted in federal court in an alleged $15 million fraudulent billing scheme with 15 charges that included embezzlement, money laundering and wire fraud. Sahil pleaded not guilty and was released to home confinement in April.

Suhail paid $4.3 million for the condo in 2023, but the condo is expected to trade hands for much less than that figure, according to Crain’s who cited Re/Max Premier broker Ryan Smith. Smith is a foreclosure specialist, according to the outlet, and is handling the transaction for lender US Bank. There is no set asking price for the condo, which is in move-in condition, Smith told the outlet. The developers first sold the unit for around $4.69 million in 2021 before Suhail’s 2023 purchase. According to Block Club Chicago, Suhail is expected to reach a deal with prosecutors before trial.

The condo is on the 20th floor of the historic Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue, and features a balcony that faces the Chicago River. The 20th floor is the bottom of the building’s “crown” of Gothic tracery, and the tall, ornate windows smack of the style. The unit spans 3,500 square feet and has three bedrooms.

The tower was formerly the home of the Chicago Tribune, and was completed 101 years ago. Its construction was the culmination of an architectural competition, aimed at netting the newspaper the most beautiful building in the world. The neo-Gothic style of New York-based architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells won the competition.

The Tribune moved out of the building in June 2018 to set up shop at One Prudential Plaza. The tower was then sold to CIM Group and Golub & Company to be developed into the luxury condos and retail space it offers today.

— Hunter Cooke