A New Jersey real estate investor pleaded guilty to one count of an indictment charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Cabral Simpson, 46, of Orange, N.J., and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They also induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to more than $1 million in losses.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud to which Simpson pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits to Simpson or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger credited special agents of the HUD Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi in Newark, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.