NEWARK — A real-estate investor formerly from Mendham was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for conspiring with others to commit mortgage fraud. Barry Fauntleroy, 40, who had been living in Mendham but now lives in Atlanta, was also ordered Monday to pay $524,000 in restitution, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

Fauntleroy was president of EON Institute Inc., a real estate holding company. He had pleaded guilty last year to charges that he conspired with others to commit mortgage fraud by arranging federal loans for unqualified buyers.

Authorities said that from at least June 1999, through July 2001, Fauntleroy conspired with Devon Bowie, 53, of Malverne, N.Y., and others to prepare falsified loan applications. The applications were submitted to the Federal Housing Administration and related to loans insured by HUD. Bowie was president of Neighborhood Mortgage Bankers Company of Elmsford, N.Y.

Fauntleroy acknowledged that he and others recruited individuals with relatively low incomes and promised them they could buy homes in Essex County with little or no money down