Wildwood Man Charged with Wire Fraud in Alleged Mortgage Scam

CAMDEN – A Wildwood man was charged with wire fraud for his part in an alleged $13 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and straw buyers to make illegal profits on overbuilt condominiums at the Jersey shore.
According to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, Daniel Cardillo, 49, of Wildwood and John Leadbeater, 54, of Kearney, are each charged in a superseding Indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Leadbeater is also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Leadbeater surrendered to special agents of the FBI the morning of March 22 and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court. Cardillo, who was previously indicted in this case, is expected to appear in federal court on March 25, before U.S. District Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden.
According to the superseding Indictment, unsealed March 22, Leadbeater and his co-conspirators located for purchase ocean town condominiums overbuilt by financially distressed developers in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest and recruited straw buyers, including Cardillo, to purchase those properties. The straw buyers had good credit scores, but lacked the financial resources to qualify for the mortgage loans. The conspirators created false documents such as fake employment records, W-2 forms and investment statements to make the straw buyers appear more credit-worthy than they actually were in order to induce the lenders to make the loans.
To prepare the straw buyers’ false loan applications, Leadbeater and his conspirators caused fraudulent mortgage loan applications in the name of the straw buyers, including the supporting documents, to be submitted to mortgage brokers that the brokers knew were false, attributing to the straw buyers inflated income and assets. Once the loans were approved and the mortgage lenders sent the loan proceeds in connection with real estate closings on the properties, Leadbeater and his conspirators took a portion of the proceeds, having funds wired or checks deposited into various accounts they controlled. They also distributed a portion of the proceeds to the other members of the conspiracy for their respective roles.
Some previously charged co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme and await sentencing.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A copy of the indictment can be seen at: http://capemaycountyherald.com/files/media/Leadbeater-John-et-al-Indictment.PDF