CAMDEN – A Wildwood man admitted to defrauding a financial institution as part of a mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and “straw buyers” to make illegal profits on over-developed condominiums in the Wildwood area, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced June 5.
Daniel Cardillo, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a release.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
John Leadbeater, 58, of Kearny, N.J., and others identified homes in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Leadbeater and others would then recruit straw buyers, including Cardillo, to purchase those properties at inflated rates. The straw buyers had good credit scores but lacked the financial resources to qualify for mortgage loans.
Cardillo and others were able to deceive a bank into providing Cardillo a $445,141.61 loan for the purchase of a condo in Wildwood. Cardillo submitted a fraudulent loan application prepared by other conspirators that contained false information about his income, assets and intended use of the property.
The conspiracy charge to which Cardillo pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Cardillo’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14.
Leadbeater pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud March 9. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents from the FBI”s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark and special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation in Mays Landing, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Larsen in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline M. Carle and Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
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