Montclair Man Guilty In Kickback Scheme Involving Jersey City Condo

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A Montclair resident has admitted to his role in a “kickback scheme” involving a condominium complex in Jersey City, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Jonathan Smith, 56, of Montclair, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the $470,000 scam, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Smith’s conspirator, Nathaniel Obedos, pleaded guilty in July 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. Another accused conspirator, Ranaldo Bennett, was arrested and charged for the same conduct, and his case is still pending, authorities said.

Prosecutors released the following statement about the case:

“From November 2018 through July 2020, Smith conspired with Bennett and Obedos to engage in a kickback scheme to defraud the owner of the condominium complex. Bennett was the complex’s lead property manager and Smith was its superintendent. Bennett and Smith steered repair and maintenance work to Obedos and his company. Bennett and Smith requested and received kickbacks from Obedos. To fund these kickbacks, Bennett and Smith falsified invoices that grossly inflated the value of Obedos’s work. Relying on those fake invoices, the complex paid Obedos the inflated prices, and Obedos then used the excess money to pay Bennett and Smith kickbacks. The complex paid Obedos and his company over $1 million for work that was actually valued at $500,000. Obedos used the overpayments to pay $460,000 in kickbacks to Bennett and approximately $30,000 in kickbacks to Smith.”

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest, prosecutors said.

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