NEWARK –
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said last week that the sentencing of former Kearny Councilman John Leadbeater in connection with a mortgage fraud case has been delayed again.
Now, Leadbeater, 58, is to learn his fate when he appears Dec. 14 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Jerome Simandle in Camden Federal Court for sentencing.
He was initially scheduled to have been sentenced June 26 but that was deferred to Sept. 14 and that date was re-set at the court’s request, according to defense attorney Tom Cammarata.
Leadbeater, also a former Kearny Board of Education member pleaded guilty March 9 to one count of wire fraud as part of what the federal attorneys characterized as a multi-defendant, $13 million mortgage fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged that Leadbeater and others recruited “straw buyers” for selected homes in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest to purchase the properties at inflated rates. The buyers had good credit scores but lacked the financial wherewithal to qualify for mortgage loans, according to the feds.
– Ron Leir
