A Kearny man today admitted his role in a $13 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and “straw buyers” to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. John Leadbeater, 58, of Kearny, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The plea came after the first week in what prosecutors and defense lawyers expected to be a lengthy mortgage fraud trial. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Leadbeater admitted to personally participating in fraudulent activity related to nine properties in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. He admitted to causing mortgage lenders to fund $4,711,557 worth of mortgages based on false and fraudulent loan applications and closing documents prepared by him and his conspirators. As part of his guilty plea to the wire fraud conspiracy, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a charge of money laundering conspiracy. Twelve of the conspirators not charged in the superseding indictment have already pleaded guilty to the mortgage fraud scheme.
On diverse dates in 2013, John Bingaman, 45, of Benton, Arkansas; Angela Celli, 42, of Somerset, Massachusetts; Deborah Hanson, 52, of Sewell, New Jersey; Robert Horton, 40, of Nashport, Ohio; Michelle Martinez, 50, of Brick, New Jersey; Ernesto Rodriguez, 46, of Brick; Dana Rummerfield, 48, of Los Angeles, California; Justin Spradley, 37, of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Paul Watterson, 54, of Maplewood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before the Judge Simandle. In 2015, Sweet Briar Development Corp. of New Jersey; Joel Tirado, 51, of Woodbridge, New Jersey; and Diana Wisniewski, 45, of Kings Park, New York, pleaded guilty before Judge Simandle. All await sentencing. The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 26, 2015. Photo: Facebook