Trending: Former Mayor Fibbed and Fabricated on Land Buy, Feds Charge

By Jacklyn Corley

Manalapan, New Jersey – Former Mayor Andrew Lucas was arrested Friday on numerous charges related to the purchase of property that was later preserved as open space, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Lucas, 36, was arrested as a result of an 11-count indictment charging him with wire fraud, illegal monetary transaction, loan application fraud, false statements to the IRS, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification of records in a federal investigation.

Lucas allegedly provided falsified versions of his 2007 and 2008 tax returns in a loan application to a New Jersey bank in which he requested $525,000 to finance his purchase of the property. He is also accused of falsely reporting that he had $210,000 in cash. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Lucas, who owned and operated Lucas Capital, approached a client to pitch an investment in an entity called VLM Investments in order to obtain the $250,000 down payment for the property from that person.

On Feb. 15, 2010, Lucas presented a written note to the client stating that the $250,000 investment would be used for equipment and inventory for VLM. However, Lucas allegedly did not inform the client that, at the time the note was signed, VLM did not exist or that he intended to make personal use of the funds.

On Feb. 18, 2010, Lucas created VLM by registering it with the state and the IRS, allegedly using the name and Social Security number of an out-of-state relative without that person's knowledge or permission. Federal investigators served Lucas with subpoenas on Friday for the records of VLM and Lucas Capital Advisors.

In response, Lucas allegedly provided federal authorities with a fabricated and back-dated letter purporting to be from the relative concerning a transaction for the purchase of the Burke Farm property.

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