Former Kearny councilman sentenced to five years in prison for $13M mortgage fraud scheme
A former Kearny councilman was sentenced this week to 60 months in prison for his role in a $13 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and "straw buyers" to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, authorities announced.
John Leadbeater, 59, of Kearny, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in March 2015 to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Simandle imposed the sentence Thursday in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Leadbeater and his conspirators located condominiums overbuilt by financially distressed developers in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. They then recruited "straw buyers" from New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Arkansas, and California, to purchase those properties, according to court documents.
Leadbeater admitted to personally participating in fraudulent activity related to nine properties in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. He admitted causing mortgage lenders to fund $4,711,557 worth of mortgages based on the bogus loan applications and closing documents prepared by him and his conspirators.
Read more: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/07/former_kearny_councilman_sentenced_to_five_years_i.html
