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Cory R. Cole, 51, of Brielle, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 21, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
Under a plea agreement, the State will recommend probation if Cole pays $8,400 in restitution to two separate victims prior to sentencing, Linskey said.
Cole resigned from his employment with the Ocean Township Police Department on the heels of the investigation, after the initial set of criminal charges were filed in January 2020, the prosecutor said.
Cole was indicted on June 11, 2021, on a nine-count indictment.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Cole, who buys, flips, and rents real estate, forged a letter from his former matrimonial attorney in order to falsely establish a judgment she had against him for unpaid attorney’s fees had been satisfied, Linskey said.
Cole allegedly submitted this letter to enable his purchase of a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle. Cole would not have been unable to secure the $425,000 loan to purchase the property if the lender was aware the judgment against Cole was outstanding, Linskey said.
Additional investigation revealed that Cole illegally retained $4,200 security deposits from tenants at two separate properties in Brielle. He attempted to justify retaining the security deposit of his tenants on Fisk Avenue by claiming they owed money in unpaid utility bills on the property and providing them with a forged bill from New Jersey Natural Gas that falsely indicated they had an outstanding balance, the prosecutor said.
The other tenant, who signed a lease to rent the Borrie Avenue property, was never even able to move into the property.
A review of bank records revealed that Cole deposited her $4,200 check into a bank account and that within days, he withdrew the bulk of it in cash. The investigation further revealed that to satisfy the Brielle School District’s residency inquiries with respect to the woman’s children, Cole uttered a forged lease to the school district indicating that the victim had moved into a different property that he owned in Brielle, which was in actuality being rented by someone else, Linskey said.
Cole is set to be sentenced on Aug. 12, 2022.
The case is being handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Falco,
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