Matawan Man Convicted of Stealing $175K in South Brunswick Gas Station Sale

Two men were convicted Wednesday of stealing $175,000 by brokering the sale of a gas station in South Brunswick and lying to the purchaser about the price set by the sellers.

Shahid Javed, 29, of Matawan and Du Kang, 31, of Perth Amboy were found guilty by a Middlesex County jury on charges of conspiracy, theft by deception and falsifying or tampering with records.  The verdict followed a five-day trial before Superior Court Judge Diane Pincus.  Deputy Attorney General Thomas Clark tried the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

The state presented testimony and evidence at trial that the victim was introduced to Javed and Kang after making inquiries about purchasing a gas station, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Jayed and Kang indicated that they knew a father and son who were selling a Delta gas station on Route 130 in the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick for $425,000. They said that because they knew the sellers, they had been able to negotiate a price of $300,000.  The buyer understood he was not buying the real estate or equipment, only the right to lease the property for a monthly rental and operate the business as his own. In reality, the owners were selling the business for $125,000 and signed a letter of intent with Kang to sell it for that price, the OAG's office said.

Javed and Kang pressured the victim to act quickly and never allowed him to meet the sellers. They altered the two-page letter of intent by replacing the first page with one that listed the price as $300,000, stealing the difference between the sold price and the listed purcharse price, according to the OAG's office. The victim later spoke to the sellers, who had become his landlords, and said he thought he paid too much for the gas station in light of what he was earning; the sellers then alerted him to the actual sale price. The victim previously sued the defendants and secured a judgment for $175,000 but has not been paid.

Sentencing for Javed and Kang is scheduled for May 12.