A Wall Township man has been arrested and charged with swindling his former business partner out of $1.57 million, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on Monday.

Anthony Steward, 54, has been charged with second-degree misconduct by a corporate official and second-degree theft by deception.

The charges were the result of an investigation by members of the Prosecutor’s Office that was initiated in May, when the victim reported the thefts, which took place via three separate incidents in a space of time from October of 2019 through July of 2021.

In each case, Steward allegedly convinced the victim to make hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of payments in loans and investments through which he would purportedly purchase or renovate properties in New York and New Jersey.

Steward allegedly told the victim that the funds were being used on one investment project, only to steer part of the cash toward another, without the victim’s knowledge or agreement.

He also allegedly used some of the stolen funds to pay personal credit card bills. On one occasion, the investigation revealed, Steward convinced the victim to invest $280,000 in the purchase of a property, despite the fact that the rightful owner had never agreed to sell.

Steward turned himself in to authorities without incident on Friday and was released on a summons pending the adjudication of the case.

Convictions on these charges are commonly punishable by five to 10 years in state prison.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

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