Germaine Howard King, a 43-year-old Elizabeth resident, used counterfeit money orders he created on a computer with the assistance of a woman named Melissa Reynolds, who previously pleaded guilty to fraud. The two tried to pay off two Mercedes Benzes using the money orders as well as a $432,000 mortgage.
The financial institution mistakenly accepted the bogus mortgage payment and sued King and Reynolds, who still insisted the debt had been paid off. The two tried to pay off credit card bills with the bogus money orders as well.
King and Reynolds also conspired with Daniel D. Dxrams, 40, of Maplewood, in a scheme to use a bogus $101,000 check to buy a 2012 Bentley, which Dxrams sold for $82,000. He paid King $25,000.
The three used similar methods to obtain three Mercedes Benzes and a Rolls Royce.
Dxrams was also found guilty of bankruptcy fraud for failing to disclose his ownership of a car rental business when he filed for bankruptcy in 2017, as well as money received from the sale of a Bentley and from a personal injury lawsuit.
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