The the former chief of a New Jersey lender that failed last year has pleaded guilty to $11 million in secondary lending fraud.
Worldwide Financial Resources Inc. ended operations in August 2009.
At the time, reports circulated that the East Brunswick, N.J.-based company was unable to meet $20 million in repurchase requests from CitiMortgage Inc.
On Thursday, former Worldwide chief executive officer David Findel pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud secondary lenders, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Findel reportedly admitted that he prepared fake loan packages on mortgages that he had already sold to secondary investors and sell the same loans again. The scheme allegedly occurred in 2008 and 2009.
At the time, the company was originating around $90 million each month.
Among victims outlined in court documents was Lender One, which operated a mortgage purchase facility that purchased loans from Worldwide.
“As a result of these fake mortgage loans, Findel received over $11 million in illicit proceeds, which he used, in part, to maintain his lavish lifestyle – including his multimillion-dollar home in Colts Neck, exotic travel, and exclusive seating at a major New Jersey professional sports arena,” the government said.
“What I find most remarkable is that despite his wealth and success, it simply wasn’t enough,” Special FBI Agent In Charge Weysan Dun said in a statement last year. “Mr. Findel let greed beat him.”
