Ex-Bergen County Official Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud

The former head of the Bergen County Improvement Authority is headed to federal prison.

Ronald O'Malley of Upper Saddle River was sentenced Tuesday to a two-year term for a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely claimed prospective borrowers were employed by the BCIA. He also was fined $25,000.

The 48-year-old had pleaded guilty last summer to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In addition to his public position, O'Malley was a principal in a Ridgewood mortgage brokerage. Prosecutors said he and several brokerage employees falsified loan application documents to trick lenders into making loans so O'Malley and the firm could benefit from fees they received.

O'Malley's personal assistant, Laura-Jean Arvelo of River Vale, also was sentenced Tuesday.

Arvelo, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, received two years probation.