by Miriam Bell
Kang Huang was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison, for 10 criminal charges, in the Auckland High Court today.
The charges, which were bought to court by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), included eight for obtaining by deception, one for dishonest use of a document and one for corruptly giving consideration to an agent.
Huang, who operated a property development business, was at the centre of a scheme which used false information to fraudulently obtain mortgages from either BNZ or ANZ to purchase 75 properties in Auckland and Hamilton between 2011 and 2015.
He pled guilty to the 10 charges he was facing on 21 December 2017 but was not sentenced until today.
SFO director Julie Read says Huang’s sentence reflects the serious nature of misconduct in this case.
“Such use of deception, and bribery in one instance, undermines 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.”
Read says 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.
Along with Huang, the SFO has bought charges against three other people it alleges were involved in the scheme.
But Huang’s co-accused are all pleading not guilty and are not set to go to trial until February 26.
They include Huang's wife, Yan Zhang, and lawyer Gang Chen who have been charged with obtaining by deception.
The third defendant is a former BNZ employee, Zongliang Jiang, who is facing a Secret Commissions Act charge of accepting gifts as well as charges for obtaining by deception.
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