Oak Park Couple Sues Burr Ridge Radio Host, Lawyer

A Burr Ridge lawyer and radio host has been accused of misappropriating more than $2 million she was hired to manage for an Oak Park couple, according to the Chicago Tribune. 

Jamal and Leda Khoury have alleged Kathleen Niew, president of Oak Brook-based Niew Legal Partners, persuaded them to transfer $2.3 million into trust accounts she managed before her firm removed the money and "used those funds for their own benefit," the Trib reports. The 56-year-old attorney, who the couple hired in 2010 to help with real-esate investing, has not been charged with a crime. 

"The Khourys made several attempts to buy property in 2012," the story reads, "but each time Niew told them there was a problem, and the deals fell through, the lawsuit says."

Read the full Chicago Tribune story here.

The Khourys' allegations do not represent the only time Niew has been in hot water with authorities, the Trib reported.

Last week, Niew's license to sell insurance was revoked, and the Trib discovered lawsuits that "allege she improperly took hundreds of thousands of dollars from other clients and failed to disclose insurance commissions." The newspaper also discovered a $43,500 settlement paid by Niew after a bankruptcy offical alleged she attempted to "hinder, delay or defraud" a client's creditors.

According to her profile on The Niew Group's website, Kathleen Niew attended Hinsdale Central High School, before the University of Iowa and Northern Illinois University College of Law.

"With a focus on Estate Planning and Probate Law, Kathleen established her practice in 1984 and has been an attorney for more than twenty-seven years," the profile reads. "In 2005, she was selected as the 2005 Republican Business Woman of the year and in 2006 she received the Ronald Reagan Congressional Gold Medal."

Niew's book Money-keeping for Modern Times was published in 2004. She also hosts a radio program—"Earn It. Keep It. Grow It."—on AM 560 every Saturday morning.

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