A property developer has been jailed for a $52 million mortgage fraud scheme involving about 75 properties in Hamilton and Auckland.
The scheme involved about 75 properties Photo: AFP
Kang (Thomas) Huang, also known as Gang Wang, was charged with providing false documents or information to several banks across multiple home loan applications.
Huang pleaded guilty to a total of 10 fraud charges at the High Court in Auckland in December and was sentenced to four years and seven months' prison today.
He was also charged with bribing a bank employee.
The charges were brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
SFO director Julie Read said such use of deception and bribery undermined lenders' confidence in borrowers in the mortgage market.
"If banks have to introduce additional checks, these costs may be passed on to borrowers increasing the cost of mortgages for all," she said.
"The sentence imposed today reflects the serious nature of misconduct in this case."
"The SFO is committed to investigating and prosecuting this kind of offending to maintain the integrity of the mortgage market and preserve New Zealand's reputation for having corruption free business practices," Ms Read said.
Mr Huang's wife, Kang Xu - also known as Yan (Jenny) Zhang) - lawyer Gang (Richard) Chen and former bank employee Zongliang (Charly) Jiang, are due to appear in court for a separate trial related to the case later this month.
