$200K Theft From Friend Nets Toms River Man Prison Sentence

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man who swindled his friend out of more than $200,000 by promising to invest it with big financial returns but instead used it for himself has been sentenced to state prison, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.

John Hammond, 70, of Ortley Beach, was sentenced to five years in state prison for one county of theft by deception, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. He pleaded guilty to the charge in September.

Additionally, Hammond has to pay the victim restitution in the amount of $211,415.98, Billhimer said.

Authorities said an investigation by the Toms River detectives revealed that between May 2017 and February 2019, Hammond convinced a friend to invest more than $200,000 with him, promising the friend large returns on his investment.

Over nearly two years, the victim deposited large sums of money into Hammond’s bank account under the false impression that Hammond would be transferring the money into an investment account purportedly set up in the victim’s name, authorities said.

When the victim asked Hammond to withdraw a sum of money from the investment account, Hammond perpetuated his scheme by creating fraudulent financial documents purporting to be from Fidelity Investments, investigators found.

The investigation revealed Hammond never invested the victim's money or set up an investment account but instead used the victim's money for his own personal benefit, authorities said.

Hammond surrendered himself Sept. 8, 2020, at Toms River Township Police Headquarters.

This article contains additional reporting by Karen Wall.