Trio Indicted on Fraud Mortgage Charges

A Saddle Brook man was one of three people indicted by a grand jury Thursday for allegedly stealing $873,520 from a lender by using stolen identities to file fraudulent mortgage applications for properties that weren't actually sold, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced.

Thomas D'Anna, 38, of Saddle Brook, allegedly participated in the scheme with Newark-based attorney Stephanie Hand, 49, of Livingston and Julio Concepcion, 48, of Passaic. 

The three allegedly used identities stolen from residents of Puerto Rico to apply for loans to buy two properties owned by D'Anna: 248 River Dr., Garfield and 91 Isabella Ave., Newark, according to Hoffman.

The lender gave them $415,865 for the Garfield property, which D'Anna and his wife purchased for $269,000 in 2003, and $457,655 for the Newark property, which D'Anna purchased through a company he owns for $92,000 in 2007, according to Hoffman. D’Anna paid off three mortgages on the properties and allegedly received more than $100,000 in profits on the two sales.

Hand was the attorney and settlement agent for both closings, allegedly filing the bogus paperwork for the nonexistent sales.

“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 in a press release.

Concepcion allegedly received $74,500 in proceeds from the Garfield property and $84,400 from the Newark property via companies he owns.

A grand jury indicted all three with second-degree counts of conspiracy, money laundering and theft by deception. They face sentences of five to 10 years in state prison and fines of up to $150,000 for each alleged crime.

“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,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice said in a press release. “This indictment serves notice that we are on the lookout for these schemes and will aggressively prosecute any participants.”