Former Brokerage Owner Sentenced in Kickback Scheme

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the former part-owner of a New York-based litigation funding company has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme.

Mathew Sheldon will also to have to pay $869,492 in restitution and forfeit $869,492 under the sentence imposed Monday. The 39-year-old New York resident will also have to three years of supervised release once he's freed.

Sheldon had pleaded guilty to a complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. That stemmed from a kickback scheme in which Sheldon defrauded his former partners in The Law Funder LLC out of $869,492.

Law Funder LLC extends loans to plaintiffs in civil litigation cases. Prosecutors say Sheldon provided "certain investment opportunities" to a New Jersey-based brokerage in return for kickbacks.

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