A Bergen County father and son were arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly organizing sham short sales on two Bergen County properties to reduce their payments to mortgage lenders.
A Bergen County father and son were arrested on bank fraud charges, Sept. 2, 2015. (File Photo) TRENTON -- A Bergen County father and son were arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly organizing sham short sales on two Bergen County properties to reduce their payments to mortgage lenders by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
George Bussanich Sr., 56, of Park Ridge, and George Bussanich Jr., 35, of Upper Saddle River, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
They're scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Newark federal court.
Bussanich Jr. owned the properties in Emerson and Park Ridge. His father, who owns various medical clinics and surgical centers, recruited a business partner and an employee from a sleep clinic lin Cliffside Park to pose as buyers for the properties, the indictment said.
RELATED: Bergen County father and son to pay $5.5 million to settle fraud accusations
Bussanich Sr. used a business entity he controlled to fund the sales, which were for less than the amount owed on each mortgage, the indictment said. In 2010, Bussanich Jr. wrote a request for the lenders to approve the short sales in which he lied about living at the Emerson home and concealed that his father recruited the buyers and was funding the purchases.
Bussanich Sr. bought the properties back from the straw buyers in 2012, the indictment said.
The Bussaniches face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count in the indictment.
The Bussaniches in 2014 paid $5.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the state Attorney General's office that accused them of using funds invested in their company to buy homes and exotic vehicles. They denied the allegations.
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