Bloomfield Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Theft and Fraud
Published on December 01, 2014
Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp announces that the Honorable Thomas J. Critchley, Jr., J.S.C. sentenced Robert Kosch, 58 years old, of Bloomfield, New Jersey to an aggregate sentence of 20 years in State Prison for multiple counts of Theft, Fraud, and Possession of Personal Identifying Information.
On October 14, 2014, a Sussex County jury found the defendant guilty of two counts of second degree Theft of Immovable Property, one count of third degree Theft of Immovable Property, two counts of third degree Theft of Movable Property, two counts of third degree Fraud, and one count of second degree Possession of Personal Identifying Information. The charges stemmed from the defendant's operation of Floaters, LLC, a business involved in foreclosure rescues and the purchase of real estate in various towns in Sussex County. The defendant targeted individuals in financial distress and who had moved out of their homes. He forged signatures on various deeds transferring ownership of properties to himself or Floaters, LLC without the consent of the homeowners. He then proceeded to rent out the properties and collect the rental income. The defendant was also found to be in possession of personal identifying information belonging to over one hundred individuals for the purposes of locating other property owners.
Judge Critchley sentenced the defendant to an aggregate sentence of 20 years in State Prison. The defendant is required to serve 6 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the members of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Chief Randy Mills and the Vernon Township Police Department, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Financial Crimes Unit whose efforts contributed to this result.
The Morris County Prosecutor's Office handled the trial due to a conflict of interest with a staff member of the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office. The State was represented by Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Sahil Kabse and Detective Leah Atterbury was the lead Detective.
Any inquiries can be directed to First Assistant Morris County Prosecutor Thomas Zelante at 973-285-6252 or tzelante@co.morris.nj.us.