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Anthony Garvin, 49, was charged Tuesday with bank fraud conspiracy in an indictment superseding earlier charges of bank fraud filed in January.
Garvin belonged to a group that allegedly bought homes with mortgages in default using home-equity loans obtained with false information and documents. The group would persuade a bank to sell the property at a loss to another person in on the scam, who also fraudulently obtained a loan from another financial institution. That other person would then sell the home for as much as twice the original sale price, authorities said.
Garvin and his co-conspirators used straw buyers, false pre-approval letters from companies controlled by the ring and other means to maximize the price of the home and keep the financial institutions in the dark about the fraud, authorities allege. Sometimes multiple loans were obtained for the same property, with none of the lenders involved aware of the other loans.
The scheme, carried out between 2011 and 2017 and involving properties in Jersey City, Union and elsewhere, netted the group millions in profits, authorities say.
If convicted, Garvin faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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