Maurice “JR” Johnson, 62, whose last known address is Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Terrence R. Cook in Burlington County. He pleaded guilty on May 23 to a charge of second-degree theft by deception. He executed a consent judgment requiring him to pay full restitution to the victim, who is a resident of Edgewater Park, N.J.

Deputy Attorney General William N. Conlow prosecuted the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

“There was nothing golden about the opportunity that Johnson offered his victim,” said Attorney General Porrino. “By securing prison terms for swindlers like Johnson, we’re working to protect New Jersey investors.”

“We’ll continue to put white collar criminals in prison and send a clear message that their crimes do not pay in New Jersey,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We urge investors to be on guard and contact us immediately if they do fall victim to fraud.”

The investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that Johnson promised the victim a huge profit through a short-term investment with Johnson’s purported gold importing business, Landview Gold, LLC. Johnson represented that he was importing gold from the West African nation of Ghana. The victim was instructed that if he made an initial investment of $100,000, he would receive a return of $1 million in just 15 days. Johnson showed the victim several documents that purported to be from customs officials in Ghana. Johnson also presented a false invoice that appeared to document a sale of gold by Landview Gold to a legitimate company that trades in gold. Investigators contacted the legitimate company, which confirmed that the invoice was a forgery.

The victim wired $100,000 to Johnson on Aug. 8, 2013. Johnson never paid any return to the victim on his investment, and within a few months, the victim realized he had been defrauded. When the victim called Johnson repeatedly to complain, Johnson made excuses, claiming that there were delays related to Ghana customs authorities, travel, and arranging the “closing.” In pleading guilty, Johnson admitted that he never invested the victim’s money and instead used it for personal expenses.

Deputy Attorney General Conlow, Detective Richard Loufik, and Analyst Alison Callery investigated the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Special Agent Nicholas Tranchitella of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Cherry Hill assisted in the investigation.

Johnson was arrested by Georgia authorities in April 2015 for stealing $20,000 from a resident of that state through the fraudulent gold importing scheme involving Landview Gold. He pleaded guilty to a theft charge there and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation.

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