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New Jersey Real Estate Consultant Sentenced In Fraud Scheme

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a real estate consultant who says he helped five people defraud banks — including a former NFL star and his mother — has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.

William Barksdale of Burlington also must pay restitution under the sentence imposed Friday, though the amount has not yet been determined. The 47-year-old Barksdale also will have to serve five years of supervised release once he's freed from prison.

Barksdale had pleaded guilty to a complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors say he helped five people defraud banks by obtaining multiple home equity loans on their homes.

Among that group is former NFL player Irving Fryar and his elderly mother. They have maintained their innocence and claim they were victimized by Barksdale.

Prosecutors said that under Barksdale's scheme, a homeowner would submit loan applications to several lenders simultaneously and not tell each lender about the other applications. Any bank conducting a title search would receive a clean title report because the other home equity lines of credit had not yet been recorded.

Barksdale advised five people to secure multiple home equity loans using his scheme, and each obtained at least three home equity loans on a single property, prosecutors said. One person got seven loans on one home.

Each person paid Barksdale a portion of the fraudulent proceeds, and many of the home equity loans later went into default.

Prosecutors said the scheme caused more than $1 million in losses.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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