Glen Rock Suspect Admits Defrauding Investors Out of $3.4 Million, Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charges
A Glen Rock NJ resident pleaded guilty to bilking investors out of more than $3 million in a real estate investment scam.
According to prosecutors, the 49-year-old suspect posed as a real estate developer, broker, and investor so that he could get financing for bogus real estate projects.
The suspect reportedly was assisted in the fraud by a 52-year-old accomplice.
The suspects allegedly tricked 15 people into giving them approximately $3.4 million. Among the fake real estate projects were a pizzeria in the Bahamas, a casino in Atlantic City, and a shopping center complex in Matawan, New Jersey.
After getting the victims to give them the investment money, the suspects allegedly used the funds for personal expenses and to cover illegal gambling losses.
Authorities got word of the fraud and began an investigation. At the end of the investigation, law enforcement arrested the suspects and charged them with wire fraud.
In August 2014, a grand jury indicted the suspects on the wife fraud charges.
According to officials, the first suspect ultimately confessed to his role in the real estate scam and reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.
The suspect recently appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark New Jersey and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In exchange for the suspect’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop five additional wire fraud charges against the suspect.
The suspect will need to return to U.S. District Court in January 2016, when he will be subject to a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Since the other suspect has not reached a plea deal with prosecutors, all of the wire fraud charges against him are still pending.
To learn more about this case, see the NJ.com article entitled “N.J. Man Cops to Role in $3.4M Real Estate Investment Scam.”
