Former NFL Star Irving Fryar Sentenced to State Prison for Stealing $1.2 Million by Fraudulently Obtaining Seven Home Loans
TRENTON – October 5, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that former Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver Irving Fryar was sentenced to state prison today. Fryar and his mother were convicted at trial in August on charges that they conspired to steal more than $1.2 million by having the mother fraudulently obtain six home equity loans on her home – five within a four-day period – and also falsely obtain a loan on the home where Fryar lives.
Fryar, 52, of Springfield, N.J., was sentenced today to five years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert in Burlington County. His mother, Allene McGhee, 74, of Willingboro, N.J., was sentenced to three years of probation by Judge Covert. Judge Covert scheduled a Nov. 9 hearing to determine the restitution to be paid by the defendants. Fryar and McGhee were found guilty on Aug. 7 by a Burlington County jury following a three-week trial of second-degree charges of conspiracy and theft by deception, which were contained in an Oct. 16, 2013 indictment. Fryar, who played for four NFL teams between 1984 and 2000, including the Philadelphia Eagles, is the pastor of a church in Burlington County that he founded.
Deputy Attorneys General Mark Kurzawa and John Nicodemo tried the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. The Division of Criminal Justice was assisted in the investigation by the FBI.
“It’s regrettable that this former NFL star and church leader is going to prison, but the reality is that he stole more than $1 million,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “The fact that Fryar had the means to succeed and do good things and instead chose this criminal path makes his actions all the more reprehensible.”
“This was not a situation where Fryar and his mother simply made a few misrepresentations on a mortgage application; they participated in an elaborate and devious scheme to defraud seven banks of more than $1 million,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “This was a major theft case, and it rightfully has landed Fryar in state prison.”
Fryar conspired with his mother to obtain five home equity loans totaling more than $690,000 between Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2009 using a single property – the mother’s Willingboro home – as collateral for all of the loans. Four of the loans closed on a single day, Dec. 21, 2009. They conspired to obtain a sixth home equity loan on the home for $150,000 on Jan. 14, 2010. Fryar and McGhee deceived the six banks by applying for and closing on the loans within a short period and purposefully failing to disclose the existence of any prior loans, so each bank funded its loan in the belief that it held the first lien on the property and the loan would be secured by adequate equity.
Fryar and McGhee also provided false wage information on McGhee’s loan applications, fraudulently claiming that she earned thousands of dollars a month as an event coordinator for Fryar’s church. In addition to the $840,000 in home equity loans, Fryar and McGhee conspired to submit false wage information on an application by which McGhee obtained a $414,000 conventional mortgage on Oct. 20, 2009 on the home where Fryar lives in Springfield, which also is owned in McGhee’s name. Fryar himself benefited in excess of $200,000 as a result of the fraudulently obtained loans. The banks involved wrote off most of the loans as losses after Fryar and McGhee made only a few payments. Only Sun Bank was paid back in full.
The six banks that provided McGhee with home equity loans in December 2009 and January 2010 are Susquehanna Bank, The Bank, Cornerstone Bank, Sun Bank, Beneficial Bank and Roma Bank. Lincoln Mortgage Company provided the $414,000 conventional mortgage loan on the home where Fryar lives.
Between 1984 and 2000, Fryar played for the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He is founder and pastor of the New Jerusalem House of God in Mount Holly, N.J.
Deputy Attorney General Kurzawa, who is Deputy Bureau Chief, and Deputy Attorney General Nicodemo prosecuted the case under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Michael Monahan, Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Detective Kimberly Allen, retired Sgt. Robert Walker, Detective John Neggia, Detective Eric Ludwick, Detective Richard Loufik, Special Deputy Attorney General William Conlow and Paralegal Melanie Malewicz conducted the investigation and assisted with the trial for the Division of Criminal Justice. Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the FBI for their valuable assistance. Special agents of the FBI Newark Division assisted in the investigation.
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