CHICAGO — A local businessman who has been free awaiting trail on federal charges he allegedly scammed elderly homeowners out of millions of dollars has been ordered back behind bars.

Back in 2017, federal authorities charged Mark Diamond and his associates with running an reverse mortgage scheme, allegedly stealing more than $10 million from dozens of mostly elderly, black homeowners on Chicago’s West Side.

Diamond pleaded not guilty to seven counts of wire fraud and was later released to home incarceration that allowed him to work at a residential remodeling company as long as he didn’t interact with customers.

The government now alleges it discovered Diamond was back in business running his own firm, and had obtained $826,000 from customers over the last 18 months, including $203,000 in cash from an elderly homeowner.

Authorities allege that in Diamond’s scheme, he conned more than 120 people into signing over the equity in their homes, believing it was a city sponsored home repair program.

A pending civil complaint, filed in Cook County, seeks to void all the victims’ mortgages because they were fraudulently procured.

The government reportedly are working on possible plea agreements with two of Diamond’s co-defendants. His trial date has not been set.