The U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below information:
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United
States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Stephen Sharkey, 51,
of Swedesboro, NJ, was sentenced to four years and one month in prison, three
years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $296,000 restitution, and
to forfeit the same amount of money by United States District Court Judge John
R. Padova for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
In
September 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity
theft and, one count of money laundering in connection with three brazen and
predatory frauds which greatly harmed innocent victims and netted the defendant
more than $385,000. Sharkey engaged in two mortgage-closing schemes to defraud
potential home buyers – stealing money that the victims had intended to use to
purchase residences for themselves and their families. In the third scheme, the
defendant stole all of the proceeds of the sale of a house by secretly going to
closing without telling the seller.
Sharkey
and his associate, Antonio Ambrosio, convinced their victims to provide Sharkey
with the down payment funds in advance of the dates set for the real estate
closings, with the promise that Sharkey would provide full financing for the
purchases. Rather than finance the deals, Sharkey and Ambrosio simply stole the
down payment money supplied by the victims and made excuses when the deals did
not close. As part of the scam, Sharkey and Ambrosio even defrauded Ambrosio’s
own brother-in-law out of $208,000. After receiving this money, Sharkey
immediately cut checks to ARMM Investments, LLC, a company owned by George
Borgesi. Borgesi and Sharkey were both convicted in United
States v. Merlino, et al., 99 CR 363, an early 2000s RICO case in which the
Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra was named as the enterprise. Borgesi was named as a
capo of the Philadelphia LCN in that Indictment, and Sharkey was identified as
a bookmaker for the mob.
After
Sharkey and Ambrosio stole the down payment from Ambrosio’s brother-in-law,
they proceeded to lure a second victim to use Sharkey to finance his mortgage,
and the victim wired Sharkey $100,000, which Sharkey promptly converted to his
own use. The deal for this property fell through, but Sharkey and Ambrosio
induced the victim to send the seller an extra $25,000 to hold the deal open,
claiming Sharkey would get the deal done. The victim sent the seller the
$25,000, but Sharkey had already disposed of the earlier $100,000 and the deal
never closed.
Finally,
in the real estate fraud perpetrated on the seller victim, Sharkey promised the
victim that Sharkey would sell the house belonging to the estate of the
victim’s deceased parents and, after going to a closing the victim knew nothing
about, Sharkey deposited all of the proceeds of the sale into his own bank
account, stealing over $52,000 from the victim in the process.
“Sharkey’s
greed impacted the lives and security of multiple families, and his shameful
actions had severe consequences for these innocent people,” said Acting U.S.
Attorney Williams. “Not only did he and his associate steal mortgage down
payments, but he also sold a different family’s house right out from underneath
them and pocketed all of the cash. For his actions, he will now spend years in
prison.”
“Real
estate fraud was just the latest racket for Stephen Sharkey,” said Michael J.
Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “He
blatantly preyed on innocent victims here, destroying two families’ plans of
buying homes and stealing a third person’s inherited property. A chunk of these
fraudulent proceeds was diverted to a longtime Philadelphia mob figure,
underscoring Sharkey’s continued association with organized crime. The FBI and
our partners are going to keep investigating and locking up those committed to
making money through illicit means.”
“This
investigation once again reveals how members and associates of the
Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Organized Crime Family are constantly looking to
make illicit financial gains by infiltrating legitimate business or exploiting
regulatory rules as well as federal and state laws,” said Brandon Corby,
Eastern Organized Crime Task Force Commander, Pennsylvania State Police. “The
Pennsylvania State Police with our FBI partners are committed to eradicating
this type of criminal behavior and hold those engaged in such activities
accountable. “
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Organized Crime Task Force and the Pennsylvania State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Donovan.
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