Former Eagle Fryar's fraud trial begins
Former Eagles wide receiver Irving Fryar and his mother went on trial Tuesday on charges they conspired to defraud six banks in South Jersey and Philadelphia as part of a $1 million mortgage scheme.

Former Eagles wide receiver Irving Fryar and his mother went on trial Tuesday on charges they conspired to defraud six banks in South Jersey and Philadelphia as part of a $1 million mortgage scheme.
If they are convicted of the conspiracy and theft-by-deception charges lodged against them, they could face five to 10 years in prison and up to $150,000 in fines, according to the state attorney general, whose office is handling the contentious case in Mount Holly.
Fryar, 52, of Springfield, Burlington County, arrived at the courthouse dressed in a bold pin-striped suit and a tan hat. His 74-year-old mother, Allene McGhee, a retired school bus driver from Willingboro, wore a blue-and-white polka-dot dress. Five friends and family members accompanied them.
Fryar, a Pro Bowl athlete, retired from the sport in 2001 and founded the New Jerusalem House of God in Mount Holly, where he is a minister. Last year, he rejected a plea agreement that would have required him to admit guilt in exchange for a five-year prison sentence, while McGhee turned down a similar offer, in which she could have received a three-year sentence.
Since then, there have been legal fireworks, especially after the state filed a motion a few months ago to disqualify McGhee's defense lawyer, Mark Fury, from representing her at trial. The state argued that Fury had a "personal relationship" with William Barksdale, a former Levittown investment adviser, who arranged the loans in question and who was sentenced in federal court for his role in the scheme. Barksdale is expected to be the state's key witness.
Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert denied the motion, saying the state had failed to provide evidence of a relationship that could create a conflict of interest. In her opinion, filed in May, she called attention to the e-mails Barksdale had sent to Deputy Attorney General John Nicodemo in March and April, in which "he claims he was promised a reduced sentence or early release date in exchange for information that would lead to new cases," and that he "no longer wanted to help" by testifying. She said Barksdale sent another e-mail saying he would "reconsider" if he could get released sooner for providing information about how Fury had contacted him and was "trying to intimidate a witness."
Jury selection began Tuesday afternoon and the voir dire included questions about the jurors' favorite television shows, how they get their news, and what they do in their spare time. Opening arguments could be heard Thursday, according to Fury and Fryar's attorney, Michael Gilberti of Little Silver.
The judge has set aside nearly a month for the trial, which will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Covert told the potential jurors that the state alleges Fryar and McGhee defrauded six banks and one savings and loan out of more than $1 million.
The indictment said the two provided false information to lending institutions to obtain multiple home equity loans, using McGhee's home as collateral for each, over a six-day period in December 2009. They allegedly deceived banks by quickly closing on each loan without disclosing they had used the same collateral for the other loans, according to the indictment.
Fryar received $200,000 from the loans, according to the Attorney General's Office, and most of the banks received only a few payments before writing off the loans as losses because they were not covered by the default. Fryar and McGhee also are accused of making fraudulent claims on the loan applications that McGhee had earned thousands of dollars each month while serving as an event coordinator at Fryar's church.
Fury, a Mount Holly lawyer, said he and Gilberti looked forward to proving their clients' innocence. "Mr. Fryar signed no documents and went to zero closings, and Mrs. McGhee received no money," he said. "At the end of the day, the state's whole case relies on the testimony of a convicted felon who got all the money from every closing. . . . Every dime went into his account."
Fury said Fryar and McGhee were victimized by Barksdale, who has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage scam in which a dozen banks were defrauded of about $2 million between 2008 and 2010. Barksdale, who owned investment and mortgage counseling businesses, was sentenced a year ago to 20 months in prison, and is expected to testify at the trials of Fryar and McGhee and two other former clients from Burlington County, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Barksdale admitted he assisted his clients in simultaneously applying for multiple home-equity loans using their homes as collateral to obtain money they normally would not qualify to receive.