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Four Indicted in $441,000 Home Mortgage Fraud Scheme

The New Jersey Attorney General announced the indictment of four people in connection with a real estate fraud scheme that, among other offenses, involved the acquisition of more than $441,000 in mortgage loans through the use of falsified application data.

The Attorney General said Anthony Dixon, of Jackson Township, his wife Carol Ann Dixon-Craig and two acquaintances, Pamela Heggie, of West Long Branch and James E. Collins, Jr., of Canyon County, Calif., are each charged in a 24-count indictment with theft by deception, falsifying records and various other acts that enabled them to complete illegal property transactions during 1997.

The indictment charges that, as part of the conspiracy, Anthony Dixon and other potential mortgage clients would apply for loans through Heggie, who was employed as a loan officer in the mortgage industry in New Jersey.

Through the use of false information, mortgage loans would allegedly be obtained on behalf of Dixon and other applicants who otherwise would not have qualified. In addition, Farmer said, mortgage applications prepared by the defendants contained inflated sale prices for the properties being purchased. Carol Ann Dixon-Craig and Heggie are also charged with posing as attorneys in order to facilitate phony real estate deals.

“This type of mortgage and real estate fraud is costly to consumers and legitimate businesses throughout the industry. Unchecked, it has the potential to rob people of their hard-earned savings and of their dreams. We remain committed to investigating and prosecuting this kind of crime,”

said Attorney General Farmer.

Paul Zoubek, First Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said the four real estate transactions outlined in Tuesday’s indictment took place in Monmouth County, New Jersey and Ocean County, New Jersey between March and October of 1997.

In one case, Zoubek said, Anthony Dixon, Carol Ann Dixon-Craig and Heggie allegedly conspired to obtain an $84,000 mortgage on a house in Hazlet, Monmouth County, New Jersey that was ostensibly selling for $98,000. The indictment charges that phony information was used to qualify Anthony Dixon for the mortgage and that the purchase price was inflated.

In another case, the defendants are charged with conspiring to obtain a $264,575 mortgage loan toward the purchase, by Collins, of a home purported to be selling for $325,000 in Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. In fact, the indictment charges, Collins was not financially qualified to obtain the mortgage and the home was selling for less than the stated purchase price.

The indictment also alleges that, in the case of a home they sold in Lakewood, Ocean County, New Jersey, Anthony Dixon and his wife accepted a $38,607 deposit from the buyer and later closed the purchase deal without disclosing that there was an unsatisfied lien against the property as well as several default judgments.

Anthony Dixon is charged with 18 counts including conspiracy, theft by deception involving $75,000 or more, issuing a false financial statement and falsifying records. Carol Ann Dixon-Craig is charged with 20 counts including conspiracy, theft by deception involving $75,000 or more, the unauthorized practice of law, forgery, falsifying records and issuing a false financial statement.

Heggie is charged with 17 counts including conspiracy, theft by deception involving $75,000 or more, the unauthorized practice of law, forgery, falsifying records and issuing a false financial statement.

Collins is charged with seven counts including conspiracy, theft by deception involving $75,000 or more, issuing a false financial statement and falsifying records.

Conspiracy is a second degree offense punishable by between five and 10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000. Theft by deception involving $75,000 or more is also a second degree offense and carries the same penalties.

Other theft by deception charges outlined in the indictment represent crimes of the third degree and carry a maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $15,000. Issuing a false financial statement is a third degree offense punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $15,000. The remaining charges are crimes of the fourth degree and carry penalties of up to 18 months in prison and maximum fines of $10,000.

Anthony Dixon and Carol Ann Dixon-Craig are currently housed in the Monmouth County Jail, where they have been since their arrest in Newburgh, Indiana on March 1, 1999. Bail for the Dixons has been set at $150,000. Heggie is free on her own recognizance. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Collins.

The case against the Dixons, Heggie and Collins was investigated by the Operations Bureau of the Division of Criminal Justice. Deputy Attorney General Therese A. Cunningham presented the case to the grand jury. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg in Mercer County. The case was allocated to Monmouth County for trial.

An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless convicted.