COLTS NECK - A multi-million dollar 22,000-square-foot mansion once owned by finance executive convicted of fraud burned to the ground early Thursday.

Colts Neck Police Chief Kevin Sauter said the fire was reported shortly before 12:30 a.m. Thursday and that the mansion was already fully involved by the time police officers and firefighters arrived.

"Upon the extinguishing of the fire, obviously the investigation into how it started began," Sauter said. "It's suspicious at this point."

Fire companies from throughout Monmouth County responded to the blaze. As of 10 a.m. on Thursday, a section of Cedar Avenue remained closed in both directions as fire crews continued to work at the scene.

The massive home was built in 2002, according to Zillow.com, and had seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms on 4.3 acres of land. The home was abandoned, but was most recently listed for sale in 2015 for just shy of $8 million.

The website listed the home as being 15,000 square feet, however, Mayor Russell Macnow said it was closer to 22,000 square feet.

Video posted on YouTube shows the property had been overrun in recent years vandalism and graffiti.

"Any time a house is posted on social media and kids are getting into the house, there's always a possibility of something bad happening. This is why we were actively taking legal actions to try and remedy the situation," Macnow said. "The township has been actively trying to get the lien holders to address the integrity of the property for exactly that reason."

The home was once owned by David Findel, who pleaded guilty in September 2011 to bankruptcy fraud.

Findel admitted to running an $11 million loan scheme while he headed up the Morganville-based Worldwide Financial Resources to cover losses during the housing collapse.

A judge sentenced Findel to five years and three months in prison, and ordered him to pay $12 million in restitution.

Sauter and Macnow said none of the firefighters or police officers were injured battling the blaze and that no other neighboring properties were damaged as a result of the fire.

"On behalf of the governing body and the township, I'd like to thank all of the surrounding municipalities for responding and assisting us," Macnow said. "And certainly thanks to our own volunteer fire department, first aid squad and police department for doing a terrific job in preventing any loss of life, personal injury and preventing any spread of the fire, which could easily have happened to other structures."

YouTube video posted in September 2016 of the abandoned mansion

--NJ Advance Media's Rajeev Dhir contributed to this report.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.