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Foreclosure Scammer Lands 6 Years in Prison
CAMDEN, N.J. – Randy Poulson, a 44-year-old Woolwich Township, New Jersey resident, has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for operating a mortgage foreclosure rescue scheme and real estate Ponzi scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners and investors of over $3 million.
Poulson, the former president of the South Jersey Real Estate Investors Association, owned and operated Equity Capital Investments, LLC and Poulson Russo LLC. He promised to pay the mortgages of distressed homeowners facing foreclosure if they sold their homes to him, causing them to vacate the homes so renters could move in. However, Poulson stopped making the monthly mortgage payments, causing those mortgages to go into foreclosure without the homeowners’ knowledge.
In the second part of the scheme, Poulson solicited investors to put their money into Equity Capital Investments, which purportedly bought and sold real estate. He claimed that their money would be used to acquire and rehabilitate a property, which he would rent out and then sell for a 10 to 20 percent return on the investment. However, Poulson spent the money on personal expenses and to repay other investors, defrauding them out of more than $3 million.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced the sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release and an order to pay $2.58 million in restitution. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Attorney in Charge R. Stephen Stigall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden. Defense counsel for Poulson is Gilbert J. Scutti Esq. of Somerdale, New Jersey.
Poulson’s scheme has left many victims in its wake, including distressed homeowners who lost their homes and investors who lost their life savings. The sentence sends a strong message that those who engage in such egregious crimes will be held accountable.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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