Dentist gets 10 years for $2.8 million mortgage fraud

A former Staten Island, N.Y., dentist who maintained an office and surgical center in Berlin Township was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison today for fraudulently obtaining about $2.8 million in mortgage loans.

Authorities said that Terrance D. Stradford, 48, and a former employee spent the money on luxury items including a 46-foot yacht and North Carolina waterfront property.

U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson ordered Stradford, also known as Wayne Sellers, to pay $592,000 in restitution and to forfeit $720,000 of seized illegal proceeds.

A jury convicted Stradford of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion related to a five-year scheme that ended in 2004. He used fraudulent documents, established fictitious companies such as a title agency, and opened bank accounts to obtain mortgages secured by his commercial property in the 400 block of Commerce Lane.

Stradford's former assistant, Christina Hachadoorian, 36, of Willingboro, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was a government witness at his trial last year. She was sentenced to six months in jail and six months of house arrest.