Livingston Man Sentenced for $5 Million Real Estate Investment Scam

An Essex County man was sentenced today to 135 months in prison for running a real estate investment scheme that bilked victims out of more than $5 million.

Abbe Edelman, 51, of Livingston, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud.

According to court documents and statements, Edelman conducted an elaborate real estate investment fraud Ponzi scheme for roughly a decade, “duping victim-investors to provide him with money purportedly to buy and sell real estate and earn large returns on their investments.”

Beginning in 2004, Edelman operated through several companies alleged to be in the business of buying and selling real estate. Edelman told investors that he had significant past real estate experience, including a purported history of successfully buying and selling numerous bank foreclosed properties, and an MBA degree from NYU in real estate finance. Edelman claimed that he had longstanding relationships with banks that provided him with unique access to purchase foreclosed properties at below market prices and, in fact, already had negotiated with the banks to purchase certain properties at agreed-upon prices that would guarantee an easy resale and profit for investors.

According to a release, Edelman promised investors that any investment would be used solely for the purchase, renovation or sale of specific investment properties in, among other places, New York, New Jersey, California and Florida. Edelman told his investors that he could obtain extraordinary returns, as much as 25 percent, in as little as eight to 12 months.

Edelman purportedly told some victims that he had received from other investors, including professional athletes and celebrities, the majority of the capital needed to purchase the investment properties. He also said he had provided cash deposits to the financial institutions to secure the right to purchase the investment properties and invested his own money in the deals. In reality, neither Edelman nor any of his real estate companies had a history of purchasing any bank foreclosed properties.

Edelman also did not possess even an undergraduate, the release stated.