$100,000 Theft By Deception Dismissed

Money Laundering Charges

Our office recently represented a client in Superior Court who had been indicted on six counts related to loan fraud scheme for $100,000. The indictment included two counts of 2nd degree Identity Theft under 2C:21-17a(1), one count of 2nd degree Theft by Deception under 2C:20-4a, 3rd degree Uttering False Documents (fake ID) under 2C:21-2.1c, 4th degree false documents under 2C:21-2.1d, and a 4th degree Hindering Apprehension under 2C:29-3b(4). The State’s allegations were that our client had entered various banks and attempted to take out a loan for $100,000 using someone else’s identity. The allegations further stated that he had presented a fake ID and other identifying information to bank personnel to prove he was in fact someone else. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested outside the bank and a fake ID was found in his possession. The evidence against him included video surveillance, numerous financial documents, the fake ID, and our client’s own admissions.

Our client had a prior criminal record and was facing a maximum of 38 years in state prison however the client was adamant that he could not serve any type of incarceration. Our criminal defense attorneys first started by challenging the prosecution’s case and examining the proofs against our client. Moreover, we provided additional information and exculpatory evidence for the State to consider that was not known at the time of grand jury presentation. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the State’s case was patently deficient because they were missing essential elements of discovery needed to prove that our client had actually taken the steps necessary to secure the fraudulent loan and that he actually possessed the criminal intent to defraud and steal from the banking institutions. The final result was that our client agreed to enter a plea to one count of 3rd degree charge of Uttering False Documents for presenting a fake ID to authorities in order to obtain some benefit. In consideration of the plea, the State moved to dismiss all remaining charges including all the three 2nd degree crimes which were the most serious, as each carried 5 – 10 years in state prison. Furthermore, at sentencing we were able to successfully argue to the judge that our client should receive only probation with no incarceration.

State v. C.K.