Michael Eliasof, Mahwah, New Jersey, was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in a criminal information filed on November 14, 2007. According to the information, Eliasof assisted underqualified borrowers to obtain financing from several lenders including, GMAC, Argent, Long Beach, Finance America, LLC and others, to purchase properties at inflated prices; prices that sometimes exceeded 400% of the original sale price. Eliasof and his co-conspirators provided the "unsophisticated" borrowers with false bank statements, asset information and other false documents to aid in substantiating the exaggerated incomes submitted to the lenders as the borrower's actual income. The scheme took place between May of 2002 and February 2005, and according to media reports, undermined the unstable Paterson, New Jersey housing market.

Eliasof agreed to a plea deal with US federal prosecutors for his part in the flipping scheme on the same day he was charged. Conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.