Shore Developers Head to Prison in $1 Million Dollar Investment Scam

A pair of shore real estate developers head to prison for embezzling nearly $1 million dollars in an investment fraud scam. 60-year-old Allen Weiss of Marlboro was sentenced to 27 months and co-conspirator David Moulakis, 55, of Toms River to 12 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a Trenton Federal courtroom Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney's office says the pair conspired with each other and others from January 2009 to February 2010 in a scheme to embezzle investment funds they raised in connection to purported real estate developments, including professional service locations for physicians in developments in Holmdel, Hazlet and Neptune.

The U.S. Attorney's office says the pair lured investors with promises of high returns and fictitious guarantees on investments and assured existing investors that their investments were secure through fraudulent account and mortgage documentation.

In addition to the prison terms, Judge Anne E. Thompson also sentenced Weiss to five years supervised release and Moulakis to three years supervised release; the two men were also ordered to pay total restitution of $1,348,808.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman credits the FBI for the investigation leading to the sentences. The case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.