Prolific South Side Landlord Chen Hit by Another Foreclosure

Legal troubles for Chicago real estate investor Jiazhao “Frank” Chen are multiplying as the South Side landlord was named in another foreclosure lawsuit filed late last week involving three Bridgeport properties.

The lawsuit is over a defaulted loan payment of nearly $820,000 against Best Credit Investment LLC, an entity for which Chen is the registered agent, according to court documents and city records. The court documents also named Chen as the individual guarantor for the debt, which originally totaled $8.5 million.

The suit adds to a string of debt problems for Chen, who has already accumulated a total of $93 million in alleged real estate loan defaults and a list of creditors taking him to court, The Real Deal reported earlier this year. The troubled portfolio includes over 55 properties across Chinatown and Bridgeport with more than 230 rental units, according to court records. Chen is also known for his 2022 purchase of the former Cité restaurant space out of bankruptcy, located atop Lake Point Tower.

Not only have Chen’s mounting legal woes sent financial shockwaves through Chinatown and Bridgeport’s residential markets, but the Chicago Reader reported in March he’s pushing local small businesses to the brink by seeking rent hikes that could nearly double costs for tenants in the Richland Center food court, which is owned by Chen’s company Heung Seng Corporation.

The landlord didn’t return a request for comment.

The latest lawsuit was filed by a subsidiary of Irvine, California-based lender CoreVest Finance, which originated several other loans to Chen’s Chicago real estate ventures that are also now facing foreclosure lawsuits. A CoreVest entity initiated mortgage foreclosure proceedings Friday in Cook County Circuit Court against Best Credit and Chen, seeking a claim to three Bridgeport properties at 2628, 2634 and 2636 South Wells Street, just south of the Dan Ryan Expressway.

The complaint lists $8.5 million as the total authorized debt under Chen’s revolving credit contract with CoreVest, but the lawsuit only seeks to collect the $680,000.00 principal, plus interest, fees and default charges actually drawn down on the credit facility and currently unpaid, bringing the total owed to $819,460.79.

Attorneys for CoreVest didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The properties are “multi-residential buildings” with “no tenants” and “still under construction,” according to court documents. The Cook County Assessor’s office estimates the three properties are worth a combined $1.6 million as of 2025.

The lender alleged that Best Credit defaulted payment on a loan with an outstanding balance of $819,460.79, including ongoing interest, and missed two installments of real estate taxes, both of which amount to a default under the loan agreement and mortgage terms.

The counts of action include breach of contract against Chen and Best Credit, foreclosure on the three Bridgeport properties and foreclosure of rents and personal property collateral. Chen could not be reached for a comment.

The case is expected to have its day in court on Sept. 22, before Judge Chloe Pedersen.