NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, woman today admitted making and using phony money orders, cashier’s checks, receipts and other fabricated documents to fraudulently discharge $2 million in mortgages, student loans, and other financial obligations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Melissa Reynolds, 43, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud affecting financial institutions, and bank fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Beginning in early 2014, Reynolds and Germaine H. King, 41, of Elizabeth, began making fraudulent money orders, cashier’s checks, and other fictitious documents on their home computer. They began mailing these phony money orders to financial institutions and other lenders in their attempt to fraudulently discharge their lawful debts. Reynolds discharged and attempted to discharge more than $2 million in lawful debts.

For example, in May 2014, Reynolds and King mailed fraudulent money orders for $22,260 and $39,585 to a credit union in an effort to fraudulently pay off their Mercedes-Benz cars. They also made and mailed a fraudulent money order for $432,000 to a financial institution as a complete payoff of the mortgage on Reynolds’ home in Elizabeth. The financial institution erroneously accepted the fraudulent payment and credited it as a payoff for her mortgage. Later, a state court reinstated the mortgage.....