Accused Serial Scammer Candace Clark Hospitalized Before Bond Hearing
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Accused serial scammer Candace Clark had been expected to appear for a bond hearing Saturday, but she did not end up appearing as she was hospitalized after complaining of chest pains.
Clark's bond was set at $15,000 in her absence, CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported.
The Cook County Sheriff's office said when Clark was booked into custody Saturday morning hours ahead of the Central Bond Court call, she said she was having chest pains.
She was taken to St. Anthony Hospital, where she remained Saturday afternoon.
Clark faces six felony charges – five counts of theft by deception and one of false representation of a government employee. She is due back in court on Friday, Jan. 24.
Clark was arrested Friday morning following a series of CBS 2 investigations. She was apprehended at the Starbucks at Division and Dearborn streets by members of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Chicago Police Financial Crimes Unit.
She was wearing a hat, a T-shirt and had several fake ID's with her, according to police sources.
They tracked her to the Starbucks where they called her cell, confirmed she was inside, and then swooped in to arrest her.
CBS 2 has been following Clark and found that she has been involved in several elaborate scams that have cost people across Chicago tens of thousands of dollars. She's accused of ripping off everyone from seniors to millionaires.
Victim after victim told CBS 2 Clark was the woman who conned them out of tens of thousands of dollars – or rent money.
Police got Clark for what they said she did to Fiori Hadera. Clark leased Hadera's $2 million mansion in Lincoln Park – and never paid a cent in rent.
It's a moral, but not a financial victory for Hadera, who said Clark left her house damaged almost beyond repair.
"There is no hope to get money from her," Hadera said.
RELATED: Chicago Charade: 'She Needs To Be Stopped,' Former Friend Says Of Suspected Scammer Candace Clark
In her reports, CBS 2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker showed how victims said Clark used fake documents she cut, pasted, and put together like a puzzle to get people to rent to her.
"My supervisor called me, and I can hear her, 'Darlene! They got her! They got her!'" said Darlene Simmons. "Before I knew it, I couldn't hold back the tears."
Simmons also said she was victimized by Clark. She said Clark posed as a real estate agent and showed her multiple properties.
In the end, Simmons said Clark swindled her out of her $73,000 in life savings.
RELATED: The Darlene Simmons Story: Woman Says 'Friend' Candace Clark Scammed Her Out Of Over $73,000
"I was between a rock and a hard place, but right now, I don't mind being there – because they got her," Simmons said.
Other victims said Clark hired actors to help her stage fake professional events, where in one case she impersonated a state official - also illegal. All could potentially result in criminal charges.
Tucker actually tried to confront Clark during a staged event, in which Clark impersonated a state official in a room full of paid actors.
Clark told Tucker, "Get out of my face!"
The timing of Clark's arrest, shortly after Tucker's stories appeared on TV and in social media, was no surprise to CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller.
"I think the fact that you're doing this and letting the public know about it will light a fire under the Police Department," Miller said. "This is called a heater case now that Channel 2 is interested in this particular topic."
While authorities investigate Clark behind bars, we continue to hear from other victims – some of whom say they were scammed by Clark 20 years ago.
