Livingston Lawyer Indicted for Allegedly Defrauding Mortgage Lender Of $873K

A Livingston lawyer was indicted Thursday with two other New Jersey men for conspiring to use stolen identities in order to defraud a mortgage lender of more than $850,000, according to the Attorney General’s Office. 

A state grand jury indicted Stephanie Hand, 49, of Livingston, along with two other men in Mercer County for allegedly filing a fraudulent mortgage loan application for two real estate transactions, falsifying settlement statements and diverting $873,520 in loans, according to Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

“It is particularly troubling that an attorney—a person who took an oath to uphold the law – is charged with conspiring in this type of scheme,” Hoffman said. 

“Attorneys and licensed real estate brokers should serve as watchdogs to prevent mortgage fraud.  If instead they use their licenses to commit fraud, we will make sure that they face stern punishment.” 

Hand, whose law office is in Newark, worked with Julio Concepcion, 48, of Passaic, and Thomas D’Anna, 38, of Saddle Brook, according to the Attorney General.

The three allegedly conspired in two bogus real estate sales in January and February of 2009 involving properties at 248 River Road in Garfield and 91 Isabella Ave. in Newark, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

In both sales, D’Anna was the seller and no actual buyer existed, according to the Attorney General’s Office. D’Anna owned the Garfield property with his wife, and he owned the Newark property through his company Metro Property Partners LLC.  

The three allegedly used identities stolen from two residents of Puerto Rico to apply for loans for the purchases, submitting false bank statements and other false information to support the applications, according to the Attorney General.

Hand was the attorney and settlement agent for both closings, according to the Attorney General. She allegedly filed false Housing and Urban Development settlement statements indicating the buyers made required payments and the loan proceeds were properly disbursed, according to the press release.  

The lender provided a loan of $415,865 for the Garfield property, which the D’Annas bought for $269,000 in 2003, and a loan of $457,655 for the Newark property, which Metro bought for $92,000 in 2007, according to the press release.

It is alleged that $74,500 in proceeds from the Garfield property and $84,400 from the Newark property were diverted to companies owned by Concepcion, according to the press release.

D’Anna paid off three mortgages on the properties and allegedly received more than $100,000 in profits on the two sales, according to the Attorney General.  Only a few monthly payments were made on each of the loans.

“We are seeing this combination of mortgage fraud and identity theft with increasing frequency, as con artists seek to take out major loans, steal the proceeds and escape under the cover of a false identity,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. 

“This indictment serves notice that we are on the lookout for these schemes and will aggressively prosecute any participants.”

If convicted, Hand, Concepcion and D’Anna face second-degree charges of conspiracy, money laundering and theft by deception, which carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

The case was assigned to Essex County, and all three defendants will be ordered to appear in court for arraignment at a later date.