A Willingboro Township Council member, who is also the town’s former mayor, was sentenced this week to a year in federal prison in connection with a fraudulent real estate transaction.
Nathaniel Anderson, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kirsch to 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay about $221,000 in restitution.
Anderson and a business associate, Chrisone D. Anderson, 58, of Sicklerville, were each convicted in January of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of making a false statement on a mortgage application, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors say that from March 2015 through June 2017, the two conspired to orchestrate a fraudulent short sale of a property in Willingboro.
The sale was from Nathaniel Anderson to Chrisone Anderson, who at the time of the sale was named Chrisone Whitehead and listed in a 2024 indictment as a “businesswoman” from Marlton.
However, the two submitted false statements on the mortgage documents as part of what’s known as a short sale, which is when someone sells a property for less than the balance on the mortgage, usually during a foreclosure.
Lenders must approve a short sale because they are forfeiting the difference between the price of the property and the unpaid balance, thus taking a loss.
The sale was supposed to be part of an arm’s length transaction, meaning the buyer and seller were independent, unrelated parties, both acting in their own self-interest.
In addition, Nathaniel Anderson, recently divorced at the time, was not supposed to continue to live in the home under terms of the short sale.
But authorities found that the two violated the terms of the short sale and that Nathaniel Anderson, engaged to be married to a person unnamed in court documents, continued to live at the home.
And Chrisone Anderson continued to live in Marlton and renewed her nursing license and lease at that address.
The fraud caused a loss of over $200,000 to lenders, authorities said. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Anderson had a substantial portion of his mortgage debt canceled as part of the sale.
Chrisone Anderson was sentenced to eight months’ home confinement to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution.
According to the Willingboro website, Nathaniel Anderson, a native of Teaneck, is a 1993 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and was pursuing a master’s degree in business management at the University of Phoenix.
He moved to Willingboro in 2001 and was elected to council in 2009. In 2016 he became mayor. He is listed as a managing partner at Nothing But Green Living Enterprises LLC. Willingboro Township’s website lists him as a member of the township council.