Fryar, mother seek new trial or reversal

Before former NFL star Irving Fryar and his mother are sentenced next month for their roles in a $1.2 million mortgage scheme, a New Jersey judge will rule on their lawyers' motions asking for either a verdict reversal or a new trial.

Fryar, a wide receiver who played for the Eagles and other teams during his 17-year NFL career, and his mother, Allene McGhee, 74, formerly of Willingboro, were convicted of conspiracy and theft by deception Aug. 7. Each faces five to 10 years in prison and up to $150,000 in fines on Oct. 2 when state Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert is expected to sentence them.

But the defense contends the verdict is a "miscarriage of justice" due to a lack of evidence and wants the judge to overturn the verdict. The lawyers also say the prosecutor prejudiced the Mount Holly jury with an "inflammatory statement" during closing remarks and that this affected the outcome.

On Wednesday, the state Attorney General's Office released its 24-page response, saying it presented "a mountain of evidence" along with the testimony of 22 witnesses during the nearly three-week trial.

The key witness was William Barksdale, a coconspirator who had pleaded guilty earlier and is serving 20 months in federal prison. Also testifying were the representatives of the seven lending institutions in Burlington County and Philadelphia that were defrauded between October 2009 and January 2010. The detective who traced the flow of the money from the banks to Barksdale and then about $300,000 of it to Fryar also testified.

The prosecution's brief also said that the closing remarks by Deputy Attorney General Mark Kurzawa were proper and that courts have ruled that prosecutors should be "afforded considerable leeway to make forceful arguments in summation."

Kurzawa had told the jury that Barksdale was "spending time in federal prison for his role" in the scheme and that "now it's the defendants' turn to serve their time for their role." The prosecutor also said that "there's only one reasonable conclusion. . . . You must find Defendant Fryar and Defendant McGhee guilty."

Mark A. Fury, McGhee's lawyer, said in his brief that these remarks were "an absolute violation of the restraints on prosecutorial argument" and contradicts court rulings that say a prosecutor's primary duty is "not to convict, but to see that justice is done."

Michael Gilberti, Fryar's lawyer, agreed with Fury, and the two lawyers cited a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that says prosecutors should refrain from offering a jury their opinion because jurors may be influenced by the prosecutors' official title and "consciously or unconsciously might adopt the prosecutor's view without applying their own independent judgement to the evidence."

Deputy Attorney General John A. Nicodemo, who wrote the prosecution's brief, said Kurzawa's statements were not inflammatory or prejudicial. Remarks based on the evidence and on "reasonable inferences from that evidence" are permitted, he said. Nicodemo also said that the defense failed to object to the statements and that this failure took away from the judge the opportunity to correct any potential problem before the jury began its deliberations.

"A proper and just verdict should not be disturbed," Nicodemo wrote, adding that the judge had previously denied motions to dismiss the charges and had called it a case with "a connect-the-dot type of circumstantial evidence" that could lead "a reasonable jury" to render a guilty verdict if it agreed with the state's theory. She said the state's evidence showed that McGhee had signed all the applications to obtain lines of credit and loans from multiple banks and other evidence that showed Fryar "had received the benefit" of the conspiracy.

Barksdale, a former Levittown mortgage broker, testified that he had taken McGhee to the banks and had her use her house as collateral to obtain multiple home equity lines of credit without disclosing the multiple applications to each bank.

Barksdale also testified that the money was deposited into his account and that he used it to reimburse himself for helping Fryar get his Springfield Township, Burlington County, home out of foreclosure a few months earlier and for repaying Fryar's debts. The state estimated that Fryar, 54, got $300,000 from the conspiracy and that McGhee helped facilitate it.

Neither Fryar nor McGhee took the stand. Their lawyers said they received no money and had been duped by Barksdale, who was convicted of defrauding more than 10 banks out of more than $2 million with several clients. Barksdale told McGhee, a former school bus driver, that she should apply to the various banks to see which would offer the best rate and that he would later cancel the other loans, Fury argued. Fury said McGhee was not aware that Barksdale had kept all the money and that he had put fraudulent wage information on her applications.

Gilberti contended that Fryar had been in a "house flipping" business with Barksdale and was not aware that any of the money Barksdale paid him came from a mortgage scheme.

The jury announced its verdict after more than 11 hours of deliberation, spread over two days. Fryar and McGhee have declined comment.

856-779-3224@JanHefler

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