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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a woman was sentenced to
state prison today in connection with a
million-dollar mortgage and credit card
scheme she and others conducted in Bergen
County.
According
to Director Taylor, Yu Jane Chen, a.k.a.
Yu Tang, 43, of Naperville, Illinois, was
sentenced to five years in state prison
by Superior Court Judge Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi
in Bergen County. Chen pleaded guilty on
Oct. 1 to second-degree theft by deception.
Chen must pay restitution of $1,153,375,
for which she is jointly and severally liable
with her co-defendants. Chen was arrested
in Illinois in May by the Naperville Police.
On
Oct. 1, co-defendant Yi Feng Reid, a.k.a.
Penny Reid, 49, formerly of Closter, N.J.,
and more recently of Irvine, Calif., was
sentenced to three years in state prison
by Judge DeAvila-Silebi. Reid pleaded guilty
on May 6 to second-degree theft by deception.
She is also jointly and severally liable
for restitution of $1,153,375.
“Ms.
Chen defrauded banks and mortgage lenders
out of more than $1 million using stolen
identities and false information,”
said Attorney General Dow. “With the
help of police in Illinois, we pursued her
and have brought her to justice with this
prison sentence.”
“We
will continue through our Major Crimes Bureau
to aggressively investigate white collar
crime, including identity theft and mortgage
fraud,” said Director Taylor.
Deputy
Attorney General Francine Ehrenberg is prosecuting
the case and handled today’s sentencing
for the Division of Criminal Justice Major
Crimes Bureau.
The
charges against Chen and Reid were contained
in a June 26, 2009 state grand jury indictment.
Two men, George Liu, 34, and Ji Gang Chen,
54, are charged in the same indictment with
one count each of conspiracy, theft by deception
and identity theft. Both men once lived
in New York, and now reside in China. The
charges are pending against those men, who
are considered fugitives.
The
investigation revealed that Reid and Yu
Jane Chen were involved in the mortgage
and small business loan industry in the
Bergen County area. They unlawfully used
the identities of other people to obtain
mortgages, other types of loans and unauthorized
credit card accounts from 2004 through mid-2007.
Some victims gave Reid and Yu Jane Chen
their personal and financial information
while seeking and obtaining a loan. Other
victims provided their personal information
while beginning the loan process, then elected
not to seek a loan. The victims later learned
that their names had been used to secure
unauthorized mortgages, loans and credit
cards.
Reid
and Yu Jane Chen were the principal co-conspirators.
With their help, co-defendant George Liu
allegedly obtained two mortgages on a family
member’s house totaling $314,000 by
using that relative’s identity, along
with false tax returns and phony employment
information. Co-defendant Ji Gang Chen,
assisted by the women, allegedly obtained
four mortgages on a family member’s
house totaling $446,000, using the relative’s
identity and false employment and wage information.
In
all, the four defendants were charged with
obtaining seven mortgages totaling $850,000
by using stolen identities and false information.
In addition, 13 bank-approved loans and
credit accounts worth a total of more than
$300,000 were opened using stolen identities.
Numerous banks in Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and New York were defrauded.
The
investigation was conducted for the Division
of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau
by Lt. James H. MacInnes, Deputy Attorney
General Ehrenberg and Supervising Deputy
Attorney General Terrence Hull, who is chief
of the Major Crimes Bureau. Detective Jason
Zbrozek of the Naperville Police Department
in Illinois provided valuable assistance.
The
investigation revealed that, among other
things, Reid and Yu Jane Chen used checks,
credit card transactions and cash proceeds
from their unlawfully-obtained accounts
to make ATM withdrawals, and to buy goods
at supermarkets, gas stations, toy stores,
jewelry stores and other retail outlets.
Other credit and cash proceeds were used
to pay for ponies to entertain Reid’s
child, to pay Reid’s nanny, to pay
for the EZ Pass account of a Reid family
member and to pay the expenses of Reid-operated
businesses.
The
investigation further revealed that Yu Jane
Chen used credit and cash proceeds to make
a variety of jewelry purchases, and to pay
the expenses of several businesses in which
she was involved. Thousands of dollars also
went to pay a spiritual adviser shared by
both Reid and Yu Jane Chen. In some cases,
proceeds from the unauthorized loans were
used to make payments on other fraudulently-obtained
credit accounts.
The
charges against Liu and Ji Gang Chen are
merely accusations and they are presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
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