TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that six men were indicted today
on charges that they stole more than $2.6
million from lenders by filing fraudulent
mortgage loan applications.
According
to Director Taylor, the 10-count state grand
jury indictment charges these defendants
as a result of an investigation by the Division
of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer
Crimes Bureau:
-
Jonathan P. Domash, 40, of Marlboro.
-
Diversified Assets, Inc., which is owned
and operated by Domash.
-
Elliot N. Bauer, 50, of Marlboro.
-
Mortgage Loan Solutions, which is owned
and operated by Bauer.
-
Mark J. Bellotti, 55, of Morganville,
an attorney.
-
Leonardo A. Hernandez, 40, of Hillsborough.
-
James E. Felton III, 46, of East Orange.
-
Michael R. Figler, 30, of Andover.
All
of the defendants are charged with conspiracy
(2nd degree). Domash, Bauer, Bellotti and
the two companies are each charged with
seven counts of theft by deception (2nd
degree) in connection with seven mortgage
loans totaling $2,671,400 that were allegedly
obtained by fraud. Hernandez is charged
with two counts of theft by deception (2nd
degree) related to two of the loans, and
Felton and Figler are each charged with
one count of theft by deception (2nd degree).
“We
charge that these defendants stole more
than $2.6 million from mortgage lenders
by falsifying loan applications for unqualified
home buyers,” said Attorney General
Dow. “The defendants collected exorbitant
fees from the loan proceeds, while the home
buyers were left to face foreclosure and
ruined credit.”
“We
are dedicating additional personnel and
resources to fighting mortgage fraud and
other financial crimes,” said Director
Taylor. “We will continue to crack
down on dishonest brokers who view loan
applications as blank checks that they can
falsify to generate illicit profits.”
It
is alleged that the defendants falsified
information about employment, earnings and
bank account balances on mortgage loan applications
so that home buyers could obtain loans for
which they were not qualified. They also
allegedly falsified U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) settlement forms.
The
indictment alleges that the defendants submitted
fraudulent loan applications and HUD documents
between April 2006 and June 2007 to obtain
mortgage loans in the following amounts
for seven homes in the following locations:
Hillsborough ($540,000), Plainfield ($342,000),
Marlboro ($339,150), Keansburg ($351,500),
Asbury Park ($384,750), Asbury Park ($374,000),
and Newark ($340,000).
Domash
would find homeowners who were eager to
sell, and then convince buyers to invest
in the homes as income properties through
his company. Domash allegedly had buyers
sign blank loan applications, so he could
falsify their personal financial information.
Bellotti allegedly handled the closings
for the home sales, performing separate
closings with the buyers and sellers. All
of the applications were processed through
Bauer at Mortgage Loan Solutions.
The
defendants allegedly inflated the sales
prices for the properties and took out huge
fees at closing from the loan proceeds.
All of the homes ultimately fell into foreclosure,
and some purchasers had their credit ruined.
In
connection with the Newark property, Domash,
Bauer, Bellotti, Figler and the two companies
are charged with stealing the identity of
a woman in order to use her name and identifying
information to file the mortgage loan application
and purchase the home. In addition to theft
by deception, they are charged with second-degree
identity theft and fourth-degree forgery
in connection with that fraudulent transaction.
Deputy
Attorney General Valerie A. Noto presented
the case to the state grand jury. The investigation
was conducted and coordinated for the Division
of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer
Crimes Bureau by Detective Kimberly Allen,
Deputy Attorney General Noto, and Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Terrence Hull, who
is Bureau Chief.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a $150,000 fine, while
fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 18 months in state prison and a $10,000
fine. The indictment is merely an accusation
and the defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Monmouth County,
where the defendants will be arraigned at
a later date on the charges. A copy of the
indictment is posted with this release at
www.njpublicsafety.com.
Attorney
General Dow and Director Taylor noted that
the Division of Criminal Justice has established
a toll-free tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ
for the public to report corruption, financial
fraud and other illegal activities. Additionally,
the public can log on to the Division of
Criminal Justice Web site at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice tipline or Web page will remain
confidential.
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