Former Willingboro mayor sentenced to federal prison for short-sale mortgage fraud
Jury convicted both individuals of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and two counts of making false statements on a mortgage application.
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A Burlington County councilman and former mayor has been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating a fraudulent real estate short sale scheme that cost a government-sponsored enterprise more than $200,000.
Nathaniel Anderson, 59, the former mayor of Willingboro Township, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to 12 months and one day in prison. His business associate, 58-year-old Chrisone Anderson, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement for her role in the conspiracy. Both were ordered to pay $221,862.71 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release following their sentences.
The sentences follow a federal trial in which a jury convicted both defendants of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, bank fraud and two counts of making false statements on a mortgage application.
According to federal prosecutors and evidence presented at trial, the multi-year scheme ran from March 2015 through June 2017. Prosecutors said the pair conspired to arrange a fraudulent short sale of a Willingboro property owned by Nathaniel Anderson, selling it directly to Chrisone Anderson to wipe out his existing mortgage debt.
To secure the deal and induce a lender to issue a new mortgage, Chrisone Anderson submitted paperwork containing materially false statements, with help from the former mayor.
The transaction was fabricated to eliminate Nathaniel Anderson’s mortgage obligations while keeping the property under their control.
The scheme caused a government-sponsored enterprise to discharge Nathaniel Anderson’s original mortgage, resulting in a loss of more than $200,000, while a lender was tricked into financing the new fraudulent mortgage.
