Accused serial scammer returns to court

CHICAGO (CBS) — Stories by the CBS 2 Investigators led to the apprehension of Candace Clark, who is accused of scamming immoderate of Chicago’s astir susceptible radical – and her lawsuit moved guardant successful tribunal Thursday.

Added up, Clark is accused of conning radical retired of $469,000. Single moms and retirees were conscionable immoderate of the victims who watched their savings disappear.

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She appeared earlier a justice Thursday.

The proceeding was held implicit Zoom, and initially, the judge, prosecutor, and Clark’s caller lawyer each thought she had skipped the hearing. This would person amounted to a usurpation of Clark’s enslaved and perchance a warrant for her arrest.

Clark’s caller adjunct nationalist defender spent an hr trying to find her. It turned retired that she had conscionable gotten a caller telephone and did not cognize however to alteration the Zoom ID to her sanction – oregon to crook connected audio to accidental she had been determination the full time.

At the hearing, Clark got a caller lawyer due to the fact that her aged adjunct nationalist defender was transferred. A justice gave the caller lawyer much clip to get up to velocity connected her case.

Clark volition instrumentality to tribunal Oct. 6.

When Tucker first met Clark, she was the prima of a backstage ceremonial wherever she was being sworn successful arsenic the caller United Nations attaché. But it was each fake – the justice and the assemblage were mostly actors.

Over the people of galore months, we discovered respective fake ceremonies wherever Clark pretended to beryllium sworn successful arsenic Illinois’ caller Director of Special Investigations. She had scammed actors, musicians, caterers, venue owners retired of thousands of dollars.

The justice successful the phony ceremonies was not truly a justice – she was autarkic movie histrion Jamie Newell.

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“It was each a fake, a hoax,” Newell told Tucker successful January.

We had grounds that Clark’s deceptions dated backmost to her precocious schoolhouse days. At Percy Julian High School successful Chicago’s Washington Heights neighborhood, classmates thought Clark was Miss Teen Illinois.

The existent victor was Danielle Reese.

At 1 point, Clark pretended to beryllium a counsellor and was accused of swindling young mothers retired of $3,600.

Clark besides posed arsenic a existent property cause and conned Darlene Simmons retired of her full status – $73,000.

“She’s a devil,” Simmons said past winter.

Our biggest find was Clark’s housing scam. She loved renting big, expensive, beauteous homes – lone she ne'er paid for them.

Clark was evicted 23 times implicit 12 years. Altogether, we identified 86 radical and companies that mislaid wealth to Clark, and erstwhile we added up the total, it came to a whopping $469,000.

After our bid of reports, police arrested Clark successful January 2020. After she made bail, the past clip we saw her she was leaving tribunal with her lawyer Borjan Kovacevic.

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Since then, Clark’s lawsuit has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and besides by her ain actions. Last November, Clark fired lawyer Kovacevic, with nary explanation.