Howell Man Admits Role In Multimillion-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

CAMDEN, NJ — A Howell Township man has man has admitted to taking part in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that and fraudulently obtaining more than $1.8 million in small business loans offered during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal authorities said Monday.

Joshua Feldberger, 43, of Howell, pleaded guilty on Oct. 22 before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to one count of bank fraud conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Mendel Deutsch, 39, of Toms River, pleaded guilty on Nov. 13 before Kiel to one count of bank and wire fraud conspiracy and one count of wire fraud, authorities said.

Authorities say Deutsch and Feldberger conspired with a third man, Arthur Spitzer, in June 2020 to make it appear as if Spitzer owned three properties in Brooklyn, New York, and agreed to sell them to Deutsch, who obtained a $4.5 million mortgage loan in connection with the transaction.

Feldberger facilitated the fraudulent transaction as the owner of the settlement company that handled the transaction, authorities said.

The three created and sent letters stating that Deutsch had deposited significant funds into escrow toward the transaction, when in reality he had not; they created fake documentation purportedly transferring control of the properties to Spitzer; and they lied to the mortgage lender by stating that the settlement company had received more than $2 million from Deutsch at closing, which led the mortgage lender to fund the loan, authorities said.

Deutsch, Feldberger and Spitzer then used the mortgage loan proceeds to fund Deutsch’s down payment, which he had supposedly already provided, authorities have said.

Deutsch, Feldberger and Spitzer, 38, also from Toms River, were indicted in the scheme in September 2024. Authorities have alleged Spitzer identified properties that had either no mortgages or mortgages well below the property’s market value, then obtained mortgage loans secured by those properties and forged documents to make it appear control of the properties had been transferred to him.

The loan proceeds were disbursed to bank accounts controlled by Spitzer or were used to otherwise benefit Spitzer, such as to pay off his debts, and then he allowed the loans to default by not making the required payments, leaving the true property owners subject to foreclosure and eviction, authorities have alleged.

The charges are still pending against Spitzer, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Feldberger is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million on the count of bank fraud conspiracy.