Active Publicized Cases

On August 6, 2024, Raymond E. Butler II filed a federal civil RICO lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan (Butler v. Eddi et al., No. 2:24-cv-00134), later transferred to the Northern District of Illinois as Case No. 1:25-cv-04443. The complaint alleges that trustees and affiliated parties, including members of Chicago’s Northside Orthodox Jewish community, wrongfully took control of irrevocable family trusts established by his Holocaust-survivor grandfather. Butler claims the defendants misappropriated trust assets valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, excluded him as a beneficiary, engaged in fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, forged documents, and self-dealing, and used the funds in connection with a network of skilled nursing facilities. The pleading asserts RICO and RICO-conspiracy claims under 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., along with related state-law and equitable causes of action, and seeks recovery of the assets plus damages (including treble damages) and a jury trial. A related 264-page RICO complaint filed in March 2026 (Butler v. Alexakis et al., No. 1:25-cv-10904) accuses certain federal and state judges of participating in a racketeering enterprise.

The underlying case is currently pending before Judge April M. Perry following Judge Georgia N. Alexakis’s March 13, 2026 recusal. Procedural developments through mid-October 2026 have included motions concerning judicial disqualification, challenges to the accuracy of the April 9, 2026 hearing transcript, counsel changes (including plaintiff’s pro se appearance and subsequent attorney withdrawals), and extensive sanctions litigation. On September 17, 2026, the court denied certain defendants’ and CIBC Bank USA’s sanctions motions while granting another defendant’s motion in part and setting a schedule for fee submissions and objections. In the related Seventh Circuit appeal (No. 25-2589), the Court on May 27, 2026 affirmed the denial of relief seeking to lift a stay and freeze trust assets, dismissed a related appeal for lack of jurisdiction, and denied a petition for writ of mandamus as frivolous. The core trust and RICO claims remain pending amid ongoing procedural and sanctions disputes. Updated filings and case materials are available on the Raymond Butler section of this site.

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