A New Jersey attorney and a real estate agent were charged with allegedly running a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused more than $30 million in losses for at least five financial institutions, according to a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Christopher Goodson, 44, of Newark, and Anthony Garvin, 47, of Jersey City, New Jersey, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. They were arraigned on the charge on Nov. 16 and were each released on $250,000 bond.

Goodson is the sole partner of Goodson Law Offices LLC in Newark. He also is the founder of the New Jersey Real Estate Investment Club that purportedly has more than 2,000 members with an annual membership fee of nearly $300, according the club’s site. The law firm and the investment club were not named or implicated in any way in the criminal complaint. For more than 21 years, Garvin has been a licensed real estate agent and investor, according to his LinkedIn page.

 

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