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Anthony Steward of Wall Township has been charged with second-degree misconduct by a corporate official and second-degree theft by deception. according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey
The charges were the result of an investigation by members of the Prosecutor’s Office that was initiated in May.
The victim reported the alleged thefts: three separate incidents between October 2019 and July 2021, Linskey said.
In each case, Steward allegedly would convince the victim to make payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and investments to buy or renovate properties in New York and New Jersey, Linskey said.
Steward would allegedly tell the victim that the funds were being used on one investment project, only to steer part of the cash toward another, without the victim’s knowledge or agreement, the prosecutor said.
Steward also allegedly used some of the stolen funds to pay personal credit card bills, the prosecutor said.
On one occasion, the investigation found, Steward convinced the victim to invest $280,000 into purchasing a property despite the fact that the rightful owner had never agreed to sell, Linskey said.
Steward turned himself in to authorities without incident on Friday and was released on a summons pending resolution of the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Kristen Anastos.
Convictions on these charges are commonly punishable by 5 to 10 years in state prison.
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