The New Jersey Legal professional’s Workplace charged Monsey, New York-based multifamily investor Mordechai Weiss with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors introduced a felony case in opposition to Weiss on March 26, in line with a letter filed within the U.S. District Court docket of New Jersey. The fees relate to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, however the particular allegations are unclear.
Weiss has a plea settlement listening to set for April 9 in Trenton, which means that Weiss and prosecutors have already reached a plea deal.
Weiss’s lawyer declined to remark.
Weiss was a comparatively unknown investor who went on an apartment-buying spree throughout the U.S. within the early 2020s. Weiss secured seven loans from Fannie or Freddie to purchase 11 condo complexes throughout the nation. In response to one court docket submitting, he owned hundreds of items throughout the nation, together with 700 items in Houston as of April 2023.
Paperwork present the properties had been typically listed as bought by or assigned to his spouse, Basya Weiss. However the investor bumped into hassle once they might not meet their debt funds.
Weiss turned an early goal of the U.S. Division of Justice and Federal Housing Finance Company’s sprawling investigation into commercial mortgage fraud after lender Berkadia filed an explosive lawsuit in opposition to the investor in the summertime of 2025, in line with individuals conversant in the matter.
The lender alleged that Weiss and title firm Cross Bridge Title labored collectively to create a sham transaction for a 326-unit multifamily property in Houston. Weiss, Cross Bridge and one other participant within the alleged fraud confirmed Berkadia bogus paperwork that positioned the acquisition worth at $97.8 million, inflicting Berkadia to offer Weiss with a $69 million mortgage.
Berkadia claims the property was truly bought for $67 million. And when the property was appraised at $44 million, it left Berkadia with a $24 million loss, in line with the lawsuit.
Weiss additionally bumped into hassle in Louisville, Kentucky. Fannie initiated a lawsuit in opposition to his property, the tallest condo tower within the metropolis’s downtown, simply two months after Greystone offered a $42 million mortgage.
Weiss might resist 30 years in jail, in line with sentencing pointers. U.S. Decide Robert Kirsch, who beforehand presided over main mortgage fraud instances in opposition to traders Moshe Silber and Aron Puretz, will oversee Weiss’s case.
The DOJ and the FHFA have been investigating suspect industrial actual property transactions in recent times. The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in New Jersey was behind a majority of the instances in prosecutors’ push in opposition to mortgage fraud, however the associated costs have been delayed due to authorized questions over the workplace’s management.
In March 2025, President Donald Trump appointed his former private lawyer, Alina Habba, to guide the workplace. However a New Jersey choose disqualified Habba for sidestepping Senate affirmation — and later disqualified her replacements, three prosecutors picked by U.S. Legal professional Common Pam Bondi.
U.S. District Court docket choose Renée Marie Bumb final week ordered Robert Frazer as New Jersey’s lead federal prosecutor, permitting felony prosecutions to renew.
Learn extra
Berkadia lost over $24M from Mordechai Weiss’ alleged fraud: lawsuit
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Chaos at NJ Attorney’s office hampers mortgage fraud cases
