A former Ocean Township Police officer was charged with Theft by Deception and two counts of Forgery on Thursday in connection with a forged document he submitted to secure a $425,000 loan to purchase a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle in July 2019.
He was also charged with additional counts of Theft and Forgery in connection with keeping a tenant’s $4,200 security deposit with respect to a different property he owned on Fisk Avenue in Brielle and attempting to justify retaining the security deposit using a forged document, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Monmouth County officials say Mr. Cory R. Cole, 49, of Brielle, is charged with second degree Theft by Deception, third degree Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property Received, two counts of fourth degree Forgery, and two counts of fourth degree Uttering a Forged Document.
Cole was previously charged by this office on Jan. 27, 2020 with third-degree Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property Received and two counts of fourth-degree Forgery in connection with retaining $4,200 security deposit of another tenant and forging a lease to the victim’s school district.
If convicted Cole faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison on the second degree charge, up to five years in state prison on each third degree charge, and up to 18 months on each of the fourth degree offenses.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Cole, who buys, flips and rents real estate, forged a letter from his former matrimonial attorney in order to falsely establish a judgment she had against him for unpaid attorney’s fees had been satisfied, and Cole submitted this letter to enable his purchase of a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle.
Cole would have been unable to secure the $425,000 loan to purchase the property if the lender was aware the judgment against Cole was outstanding.
Additional investigation revealed that in addition to the victim identified in January of this year, Cole retained the $4,200 security deposit from his tenants at a property on Fisk Avenue.
He attempted to justify retaining the security deposit by claiming the tenants owed money in unpaid utility bills on the property and providing them with a forged bill from New Jersey Natural Gas which falsely indicated they had an outstanding balance.
Cole resigned from his employment with the Ocean Township Police Department earlier this year on the heels of the investigation after the initial set of criminal charges were filed.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a former, current or retired member of law enforcement, you will be held accountable for your actions. Your unlawful or improper actions will be discovered and prosecuted,” said Prosecutor Gramiccioni.
Anyone with information about Cole’s activities is urged to call Detective Sergeant Ryu Washburne at 1-800-533-7443.
The case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Falco, Director of the Office’s Professional Responsibilities and Bias Crimes Unit.