Monday, July 08, 2002
Essex, New Jersey Attorney Convicted on Charges Involving Mult-Million Dollar Real Estate Fraud
An Essex County, New Jersey attorney was convicted by a Union County, New Jersey jury on charges that she participated in an elaborate fraud to buy and sell approximately $3 million in real estate properties and manipulated the monies via a money laundering scheme utilizing her attorney trust account in an effort to hide the proceeds, Attorney General Attorney General David Samson and Division of Criminal Justice Director Peter C. Harvey announced.
Criminal Justice Director Harvey noted that the three-week jury trial which resulted in a conviction on the charge of first degree money laundering is the first such conviction obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice, Financial Crimes and Antitrust Bureau, in a case involving financial fraud. Traditionally, money laundering charges have been tied to large-scale narcotics trafficking cases, however the Division of Criminal Justice will aggressively pursue financial fraud cases as part of a prosecution strategy geared to identify instances of money laundering as part of criminal schemes designed to avoid payment of taxes and other financial obligations.
According to Harvey, Essex County attorney Sonia Harris, 39, of the first block of Sherman Ave., East Orange, Essex County, New Jersey was convicted by a jury on charges of first-degree money laundering, first and second-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by deception and second-degree misapplication of entrusted property. The trial got underway on June 19 before Union County Superior Court Judge James C. Heimlich. and concluded when the jury entered its verdict of conviction on all counts on July 5. Harris faces a maximum term of incarceration of up to 70 years in state prison and $1.3 million in fines when she appears for sentencing scheduled for Oct. 4 in Union County Superior Court.
Harris was indicted by the Division of Criminal Justice and a State Grand Jury on April 16, 2001 on charges that she and two other co-defendants participated in an elaborate real estate scam which took place between June, 1998 and September, 1999. The indictment charged that Harris concealed the proceeds of the real estate transactions by laundering the monies through her attorney trust account. Indicted along with Harris were George Shamond Scott, 27, of the first block of Lakeside Ave., North Caldwell and Yanko Amendola, 29, of the 700 block of Barry Ave., Perth Amboy, Middlesex County.
Harris and Scott were also indicted on an additional charge of theft by deception, in which the Division of Criminal Justice charged that they fraudulently obtained two real estate properties from mortgage companies between April, 1998 and September, 1999, by “creating and reinforcing the false impressions that they had the ability to convey a particular piece of property, or that they had or would pay off prior liens on a particular piece of property.” It was charged that the defendants had no ability to do so, nor did they have the ability to pay off the liens on the two properties. The properties, both located in North Caldwell, New Jersey included the residence in which Scott lived.
mortgage fraud
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Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. 
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