NEWARK, N.J. – Two New Jersey individuals have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in a mortgage-fraud scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
Shonda Coleman, 49, of Toms River, New Jersey, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to 36 months in prison for her role in the scheme. Coleman previously pleaded guilty before Judge Wigenton to two counts of an indictment charging her and Robert Goodrich, 62, of Sayreville, New Jersey, with bank fraud. Goodrich had previously pleaded guilty before Judge Wigenton to the same two counts of the indictment to which Coleman pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 7, 2021, sentenced to 27 months in prison. Judge Wigenton imposed Coleman’s sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 2009 to 2011 Coleman worked at Westinghouse Redevelopment Act Inc., a New Jersey business entity. In November 2009, Coleman submitted a fraudulent mortgage loan application to the lender to finance her own purchase of a home from Westinghouse. That application falsely represented, among other things, that Coleman owned $165,000 in cash, a representation intended to make Coleman appear more creditworthy than she actually was. In March 2011, Coleman again participated in the mortgage fraud scheme by helping to prepare and submit a mortgage application for a prospective buyer of a Westinghouse real estate property that she knew contained false information regarding the buyer’s finances.
Goodrich appeared at the closings for both the November 2009 and March 2011 transactions and signed settlement statements that he knew contained false information regarding the buyers’ creditworthiness.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak, and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice, with the investigation leading to the sentencings.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly of the Cybercrime Unit and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin V. Di Gregory and Charlie L. Divine of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.
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