By ALESHA CAPONE
A BRIMBANK mortgage broker has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a scam which obtained home loans totalling more than $9 million.
The Supreme Court has heard Kieu Thi Huynh, who also pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception, was the owner of a business called St Andrews Mortgage Solutions in St Albans and Sunshine.
Between November 2007 and February 2013, financial institutions approved home loans using fraudulent information and falsified documents which St Andrews Mortgage Solutions supplied on behalf of clients.
’Operation Squid’ uncovered the deception by cross-referencing home loan applications with documents from the Australian Tax Office, Centrelink and financial institutions.
Supreme Court Justice John Dixon said Ms Huynh, 44, used a financial calculating program to establish the minimum wages required for monthly repayments which clients requested for their home loans.
“When the client could not meet the lender’s requirements, you suggested to the client that it was necessary to increase their income and assets to ensure the loan was successful,” he said.
“You required a cash fee from your client for the fraudulent documents that substantiated the increased income of the borrower. The cash fee ranged from $200 to $2000.”
Operation Squid investigators discovered 27 successful St Andrews’ applications that obtained home loans totalling more than $9 million.
Justice Dixon sentenced Ms Huynh to four years and two months imprisonment with a minimum of two years, taking into account her early plea of guilty, good prospects of rehabilitation and offer to assist in the prosecution of co-offenders.
“Your counsel told me that you are shunned by your local community and, in evidence, your husband described your reaction of remorse, shame and embarrassment following on the discovery of your crimes,” Justice Dixon said.
Some of Ms Huynh’s family assets could also be subject to forfeiture including the family home and four investment properties.
Apart from Ms Huynh, some of her clients have been fined up to $6000 each in the County Court for obtaining financial advantage by deception while attempting to purchase homes in Sunshine West, St Albans and Delahey.
