A former Ocean Township Police officer was charged on Thursday with theft by deception, two counts of forgery and other related charges in connection with a forged document he submitted to secure a  $425,000 loan to purchase a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle in July of 2019, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said on Monday.

In addition to the theft and forgery charges, the former officer, Cory R. Cole, 49, of Brielle, was also charged with additional counts of theft and forgery in connection with another incident. He allegedly kept a tenant’s $4,200 security deposit with respect to a different property he owned on Fisk Avenue in Brielle and attempted to justify retaining the security deposit using a forged document, the prosecutor added.

In all, Cole is charged with: second-degree theft by deception, third-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received, two counts of fourth-degree forgery, and two counts of fourth degree uttering a forged document. 

Cole was previously charged by the Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 27, 2020 with third-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received and two counts of fourth-degree forgery in connection with retaining $4,200 security deposit of another tenant and forging a lease to the victim’s school district.  

If convicted, Cole faces up to 10 years in New Jersey state prison on the second-degree charge, up to five years in state prison on each third-degree charge, and up to 18 months on each of the fourth-degree offenses.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Cole, who buys, flips and rents real estate, forged a letter from his former matrimonial attorney in order to falsely establish a judgment his former wife had against him for unpaid attorney’s fees saying it had been satisfied. Cole submitted this letter to enable his purchase of a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle. 

Cole would have been unable to secure the $425,000 loan to purchase the property if the lender was aware the judgment against Cole was outstanding. Additional investigation revealed that in addition to the victim identified in January of this year, Cole retained the $4,200 security deposit from his tenants at a property on Fisk Avenue. 

He attempted to justify retaining the security deposit by claiming the tenants owed money in unpaid utility bills on the property and providing them with a forged bill from NJ Natural Gas, which falsely indicated they had an outstanding balance.

Cole resigned from his job with the Ocean Township Police Department earlier this year on the heels of the investigation after the initial set of criminal charges were filed.

 “It doesn’t matter if you are a former, current or retired member of law enforcement, you will be held accountable for your actions. Your unlawful or improper actions will be discovered and prosecuted,” said Prosecutor Gramiccioni.

Anyone with information about Cole’s activities is urged to call Detective Sergeant Ryu Washburne at 1-800-533-7443.

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