A New Jersey man admitted in federal court Monday that he helped perpetrate a $13 million mortgage scam that targeted overbuilt condos in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest.
John Leadbeater, a former councilman from Kearny, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle to a superseding indictment of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release. The admission came a week into what authorities thought would be a lengthy trial.
In addition to Leadbeater, 12 other co-conspirators from across the country had already pleaded guilty to the mortgage fraud scheme.
Leadbeater and the other conspirators in the case admitted to recruiting straw buyers to purchase condos from financially distressed developers in New Jersey. The criminals then produced false documents such as loan applications with fraudulent financial and employment information.
To expedite the approved loans, Leadbeater and his accomplices manufactured fraudulent closing documents for the properties to induce lenders to send the loan proceeds. The group would then take a portion of the proceeds.
Leadbeater had surrendered to authorities back in 2013 following an investigation led by the FBI and the IRS,
In total, Leadbeater admitted personally to causing mortgage lenders to fund more than $4.7 million worth of mortgages based on his actions. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine in his sentencing scheduled for June 26.
