"A former New York judge was arrested Wednesday and accused of defrauding investors of millions of dollars, including by acting as a lawyer who offered fake investment opportunities in New Jersey real estate. The former judge, Edward Harold King of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy along with Sam Sprei, a Brooklyn real estate investor who federal prosecutors said orchestrated the scheme with Mr. King. The two men used Mr. King's position as a sitting judge to lend false legitimacy to supposed investment opportunities, said Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York."
"F.B.I. agents arrested the men on Wednesday morning. Mr. King, 72, and Mr. Sprei, 37, were expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court later in the afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether they had legal representation. Sitting judges are barred from practicing law. Mr. King resigned in January while under investigation by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct, which had notified him a month earlier that it was investigating numerous complaints against him, including that he was taking part in a scheme to defraud investors."
"According to a federal criminal complaint, Mr. Sprei and Mr. King told investors that they needed to deposit their funds with a third party to show proof of liquidity. Mr. Sprei, according to the complaint, told them that Mr. King was both a judge and an authorized lawyer who could receive such funds. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Hurubie Meko contributed reporting."
A former New York State Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn, Edward Harold King, was arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy involving millions of dollars. Federal prosecutors allege that King and Brooklyn real estate investor Sam Sprei orchestrated a scheme that used King’s position as a sitting judge to provide false legitimacy to investment opportunities in New Jersey real estate. Prosecutors say investors were told to deposit funds with a third party to demonstrate liquidity. Sprei allegedly told investors that King was both a judge and an authorized lawyer who could receive such funds. King resigned in January while facing investigation by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, which had received complaints including participation in a scheme to defraud investors. King denied the allegations.
#wire-fraud-conspiracy #judicial-misconduct #real-estate-investment-fraud #fbi-investigation #new-jersey-real-estate
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