*UPDATE* This mansion was completely destroyed by fire on February 1st, 2017. Watch the news coverage of the fire at: • Video
Exploring an Abandoned $8 Million Mansion in New Jersey. The former owner was sent to prison after the FBI uncovered a multi-million dollar fraud scheme he was running.
This 20,000+ square foot home built in 2002 once contained a gym, home theater, barbershop, a ballroom and a wine cellar, among many other features. In 2009 the mansion was valued at $8 million. It was one of the largest homes in that area. Most homes nearby are valued at about $2 million.
Today, the mansion is now off the market, but is valued at roughly $1 million, a fraction of its original value. In 2009 the owner was charged with wire fraud as part of a mortgage scam he ran netting his company more than $11 million in illegal profits.
He was also later charged with bankruptcy fraud after falsely filing for bankruptcy in an attempt to conceal his assets from a trustee and creditors. He originally claimed he had only $5,000 in cash, no household goods, no jewelry, no vehicles or any other personal assets of any value.
The FBI found he had more than $200,000 in personal assets he deliberately concealed from the court. He was originally facing 20 years in prison and was released on a $1 million bond. Two years later, in 2011 he was sentenced to roughly 5 years in prison, to pay $12 million in restitution, 3 years supervised release, and 480 hours of community service.
His former company served to initiate and fund mortgages for clients by borrowing money from a third party lender. To repay the lender, his company would resell, at a profit, the home mortgage in the secondary mortgage market.
The company made a profit because it earned fees for both the origination and resale of the mortgage. His company used to originate, finance and resell about $90 million worth of mortgages each month. As a result of the housing crisis, his company had its own liquidity crisis in January 2008. According to the FBI, that’s when the scheme began.
In 2008, he began submitting false documents to financial institutions as part of a mortgage re-selling scheme. He created a second set of fake mortgage documents such as loan applications, promissory notes, closing sheets, and settlement forms. He used these to resell mortgages a second time, even though the actual mortgage loan for that property already had been sold.
The illegal funds were wired to his company account, which he used to pay his corporate and personal expenses. His lavish lifestyle caught the attention of the FBI including this mansion, several vehicles, spending $400,000 on special seats at football games, & more.
It appears that as of now, a few years shy of his full sentence, he is out of prison, active on social media promoting his new business venture.
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