Director of Public Prosecutions v Werden
[2013] VCC 2063
•20 December 2013
IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for PublicationAT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-12-01013
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS v GABRIEL WERDEN ---
JUDGE: HIS HONOUR JUDGE MASON WHERE HELD: Melbourne DATE OF HEARING: 12 November 2013 DATE OF SENTENCE: 20 December 2013 CASE MAY BE CITED AS: DPP v Werden MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: [2013] VCC 2063 REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---Subject: Trial - sentencing
Catchwords: Obtain financial advantage by deception (9 charges) - attempt to obtain
financial advantage by deception (14 charges)
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991
Cases Cited:
Sentence: 9 years and 10 months' imprisonment, minimum term 7 years---
APPEARANCES:
Counsel Solicitors For the Director of Public Prosecutions Mr D Hannan Office of Public Prosecutions For the Offender Mr R Backwell Magazis (Theo) & Associates HIS HONOUR:
1Gabriel Werden, on 22 October 2013 after a trial of some seven weeks you were found guilty by jury verdict of 9 charges of obtain financial advantage by deception and 14 charges of attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception.
2The maximum penalty for the offence of obtain financial advantage by deception is 10 years’ imprisonment and for the offence of attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception is 5 years’ imprisonment.
3However, in your case there is a substituted maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment for some of the obtain financial advantage by deception charges, namely, Charges 8, 9, 11, 17 and 22, and there is a substituted maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment for all of the attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception charges, namely, Charges 1 - 4, 6, 12 - 16, 19 - 21 and 23, because under the Sentencing Act 1991 you must be sentenced by me, as you were by His Honour Justice Teague in 2006, as a continuing criminal enterprise offender for these continuing criminal enterprise offences in this case. I will go in to more detail on this aspect of your sentencing later.
4You were born on 22 January 1966 and were aged 44 and 45 at the time of the offences. You are presently aged 47.
5You have an extensive criminal history extending over four States, about which I will also go into more detail later.
6The circumstances of your offending are as follows.[1]
[1] A more detailed summary of the offending is provided in the Appendix at the end of this document.
7All 23 charges on the indictment relate to deceptions that you practised upon unsuspecting individuals, businesses and financial institutions in two periods, between July 2010 and August 2011.
8Charges 1 - 17 all occurred between 15 July 2010 and 31 December 2010. There was a clear six-month break in the offending until June 2011, when the offending began again in almost identical circumstances.
919 of the 23 charges relate to you lodging fraudulent home loan applications. The other four charges relate to you having deceived the Herald Sun newspaper into running four advertisements for finance in the paper without making payment.
10You lodged 19 fraudulent home loan applications with various banking institutions, including AMP, CBA, ME Bank and Westpac. You were successful in five of the applications, with loans being approved. This is the financial advantage you gained as a result of the deception, that is, a mortgage facility for your use. The fourth of those was funded with knowledge of the fraud in an attempt and effort to detect you. No money actually made its way to you because the disposal and settlement cheques were cancelled before the funds cleared.
11It was a similar situation with the fifth successful application, where the settlement of the loan took place in the presence of undercover detectives in an effort to catch you red-handed. You were arrested on that day. No money made its way to you as a result, as the disposal and settlement cheques were never deposited to the intended recipients. However you were successful in obtaining, from three fraudulent home loan facilities with the banks in three charges having paid out, over $922,000. The remaining 14 applications were identified by the banks as fraudulent, and were declined or simply not processed.
12In the final analysis it is calculated that the financial losses to the institutions AMP and the Commonwealth Bank are $268,954.89 and $121,369 respectively. The amount actually accessible to you has been calculated by your counsel to be $280,981.69. The monetary value attached to the offending is relevant; however the main determinant of the offence is the offence itself, and the magnitude of the scale of your offending is indicated by the total figure of the attempts, being $4,587,000, and of financial advantage obtained as $1,220,000, representing a total overall fraudulent enterprise of nearly $6,000,000.
13You placed advertisements for re-financing in the finance section of the Herald Sun newspaper. People who were seeking loans and the re-financing of their properties for that purpose would ring the advertised number and speak to you, who purported to be a mortgage broker with access to a number of lenders. You used fictitious and often different names on each occasion. You would obtain the caller’s personal details, including name and address, contact phone number, date of birth, licence number, and loan details including who their current loan was held with and how much was owed.
14You would then lodge a home loan application to purchase the person's property in a fictitious name and supply falsified documents to support the application.
15Of course, the true owners of the property had no idea about this and never intended to sell their properties. They gave those details to the "mortgage broker" that they had contacted through the advertisement in good faith on the basis of re-financing their properties.
16All phone numbers supplied in the applications were redirected to pre-paid mobile phones you were using. All addresses provided in the applications were rental premises that were either unoccupied or part of a block of flats or units with a number of letterboxes. This allowed you access to contracts and correspondence with the financial institutions by you collecting mail from these letterboxes. All companies used in the fraudulent pay slips and PAYG summaries were legitimate; however you were not affiliated with or had ever been employed by these companies.
17You would inform the legitimate property owner, the vendor, that you had arranged for a valuer to attend for the purposes of their proposed loan. You advised the owner that the valuer was to be told that the property was for a sale and not for a re-finance. The bank was to be told the same thing. You told them that there was a benefit in stating this because the valuation would be higher and the interest rate would be lower. The majority of people had no knowledge of how valuations are conducted and went along with you in misinforming the bank, believing you were acting in their best interests.
18Throughout the offending, at various times you falsely purported to be a mortgage broker, a real estate agent, a solicitor and a conveyancer. It was obvious to both the vendors and other professionals who had involvement in the applications that the person they were dealing with was knowledgeable and experienced in the area of finance and property. The majority of the properties involved in the offending were subject to mortgages with banks. You arranged, or attempted to arrange, for these mortgages to be discharged once settlement took place on the "sale" of the property. Throughout the offending you necessarily had to forge a number of signatures upon loan contracts, contracts of sale, and discharge documents.
19You engaged a legitimate settlement company or conveyancer to attend settlements of the loan applications that were successful. They too were unsuspecting. Once the settlement cheques had been handed over you arranged a courier to collect them from the conveyancer's office and deliver them to a letterbox in the Glenroy area. Once delivered, you collected the cheques and sent them by mail to be deposited into a number of bank accounts that you had fraudulently opened with ING and other Credit Unions. Once the cheques cleared, the money was withdrawn from various ATMs, typically in Hawthorn or Camberwell. Footage from some of those ATMs was seized and a viewing of that footage reveals the efforts to which you went to avoid detection by the use of disguises, even when at the ATM.
20You never met anyone face to face and all contact was conducted by phone or email. When requested to meet in person you would often state that you were interstate with work and not returning until after the settlement has taken place.
21You used identical offending with all applications except the first four, where you approached the property owners directly after locating their advertised property for sale on the internet.
22I now turn to your personal circumstances.
23As I noted earlier, at the time of the offending you were aged 44 and 45 years and you are 47 years old now. You hold Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law degrees from the University of Melbourne. You had the benefit of a private school education and subsequently have practised in the past as a solicitor. You ceased practising some years prior to the allegations. In January 2011 you began working with a marketing business called “Community Connect Advertising” which was located in North Melbourne. This is where you were arrested by police on 9 August 2011.
24You have an extensive criminal history, commencing on 17 December 1998 in the Court of Petty Sessions in Perth when, at the age of 32, you were convicted of 25 charges of fraud and other relatively minor charges for which you received a total sentence of four years’ imprisonment on the fraud charges and you were fined $100 on the other charges.
25On 17 February 2000 at the Court of Petty Sessions in Perth you were sentenced on one charge of escape legal custody and sentenced to pay a fine of $250.
26On 29 September 2004 at the Central Local Court at Botany Bay in New South Wales you were convicted of one charge of possess or control a passport that has been falsified, for which you were sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, and one charge of false statement to obtain, renew or endorse an Australian passport, for which you were sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment cumulative upon the first sentence and to be released after three months upon entering into a recognizance to be of good behaviour for six months.
27On 22 August 2005 at the Southport District Court in Queensland you were convicted of one charge of forgery and uttering for which you were sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment, such sentence being wholly suspended for three years.
28On 27 October 2006 at the Melbourne Supreme Court you were convicted of one charge of have a deficiency in trust account, three charges of obtain financial advantage by deception, and nine charges of theft, for which you received a total sentence of 5 years and 10 months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 4 months. You were released on parole on 22 December 2008 and your parole period concluded on 22 June 2011.
29I note that Charges 1 - 17 on the indictment were committed whilst you were on parole under that sentence, which is an aggravating factor for these offences.
30Lastly, on 22 March 2011 at the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court in Victoria you appeared on a minor road traffic charge. I do not regard that matter as having any effective bearing on the sentence for your current offending.
31On your plea I was informed that upon your release on parole in 2008 you formed a plan to create an agency for recently paroled offenders and for this purpose you received $500,000 from associates in Lebanon. It would appear that this scheme has not developed since a restraining order has been placed on the funds and litigation has not been finalised. You have experienced the difficulty of having to run those legal proceedings yourself from prison since 4 August 2011.
32You have been held on remand for a significant period and in maximum security, I am told, since that date.
33You have a family of two brothers and a sister who visit you in prison and your aged father speaks to you by telephone.
34On your plea on the previous offences before His Honour Justice Teague, much was made of a gambling addiction you were suffering from at the time of those offences and which helped to explain that offending. Consistent with your plea of not guilty in these matters, no explanation has been proffered for this further offending.
35Your conduct was callous and carefully, even meticulously, planned and executed. It was sustained and involved the use of disguise to your voice as well as to your appearance in order to avoid detection. In the process many innocent people were deceived. People were prepared to put their trust in you and most applicants appeared quite desperate. You preyed on their vulnerability.
36Financial institutions and the Herald Sun newspaper organisation were also deceived. You gave evidence on oath, which the jury rejected, and you have a continuing history of offending for offences of similar character. The nature of this investigation and the prosecution of this trial consumed significant resources in time and expense. Previous periods of imprisonment for like offending had not deterred you from committing the instant offences which are on a larger scale. Principles of specific and general deterrence, denunciation and the protection of the public require prominent emphasis in the sentencing discretion.
37The four Victim Impact Statements tendered provide eloquent testimony of the suffering that your actions have caused to these people and to their families. Some of your victims had to initiate proceedings in the Supreme Court to regain the title to their property, with all the expense and stress that that incurs. Others refer to their economic loss as well as loss of respect from others and their names being blackened with their financial institutions.
38There is little that can be considered in mitigation. There is no evidence of remorse. There is no evidence of what motivated your descent yet again into crimes of this similar character. That does not mean that you are to be punished for pleading not guilty or that the sentences are aggravated on that account; it is simply a recognition that an important mitigating feature such as a plea of guilty, which ordinarily leads to a significant amelioration of sentence, was absent from this case.
39I take into account your difficulties in conducting serious civil litigation whilst on remand and the fact that you have spent a long period on remand without the benefits of sentenced custody and in the more confined structure of maximum security. You have completed some educational units in the course of that custody. You made a significant number of admissions during the course of the trial and you behaved politely during the process. You have the continuing support of your family. You have, unfortunately, spent 7 of the last 14 years in gaol and in sentencing you I give consideration to the risk of you becoming institutionalised and less capable of reformation. Your prospects of rehabilitation must be regarded as bleak.
40Under the continuing criminal enterprise offenders provisions of the Sentencing Act 1991, on your being found guilty on two continuing criminal enterprise offence charges at any time within the last ten years I am required on the continuing criminal enterprise offence charges thereafter to have regard to the substituted maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment for obtaining financial advantage by deception and 10 years’ imprisonment for attempting so to do. I note that you were sentenced as a continuing criminal enterprise offender by His Honour Justice Teague in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 27 October 2006 and that this sentencing basis applies to your offending on Charges 1 - 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 - 17 and 19 - 23 now.
41In arriving at a total effective sentence, and in particular having regard to your categorisation as a continuing criminal enterprise offender being sentenced for continuing criminal enterprise offences, I have given careful consideration to the principles of totality and proportionality.
42Mr Werden, could you please now stand.
43On each of Charges 8, 9 and 11 of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, in which you obtained a financial advantage of over $900,000 and where you completed the further acts of withdrawing sums, and on which you are sentenced as a continuing criminal enterprise offender, you are convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
44On each of Charges 17 and 22 of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, in which you obtained a financial advantage of a total of nearly $300,000 but where cheques were cancelled or no funds deposited and on which you are sentenced as a continuing criminal enterprise offender, you are convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.
45On each of Charges 5, 7, 10 and 18 of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, being the evasion of debts owing to the Herald Sun, which are not continuing criminal enterprise offences, you are convicted and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.
46On each of Charges 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 23 of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception, and on which you are sentenced as a continuing criminal enterprise offender, you are convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
47Charge 8 is the base sentence.
48I direct that three months of each of the sentences imposed on Charges 9, 11, 17 and 22, one month of each of the sentences imposed on Charges 5, 7, 10 and 18 and three months of each of the sentences imposed on Charges 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 23 be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on Charge 8 and upon each other.
49The total effective sentence is nine years and ten months’ imprisonment. I direct that you serve a minimum period of seven years before being eligible for parole.
50I also direct, pursuant to s.6J of the Sentencing Act, that it be entered in to the records of the court that I have sentenced you in respect of Charges 1 - 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 - 17 and 19 - 23 for continuing criminal enterprise offences within the meaning of that Act.
51Pursuant to sub-section 18(4) of the Sentencing Act I declare that the period of 862 days, not including today, be reckoned as time already served under the sentence and I direct that the fact of this declaration and its details be noted in the records of the court.
52I order that Gabriel Werden pay compensation in the sum of $268,954.89 to AMP and in the sum of $121,369 to the Commonwealth Bank.
53Now, the Crown has also sought forfeiture and disposal orders and I have already made those orders and they will be effective as from now. Thank you, you may be seated Mr Werden.
54Is there anything else from either counsel?
55MR HANNAN: No Your Honour.
56MR BACKWELL: No Your Honour.
57HIS HONOUR: As I say, the unedited version of the sentencing remarks will be available shortly after I leave the bench. I notice that there is in court at least one member that I can recognise as being on the jury. If you would like a copy of the sentencing remarks as well then you are entitled to a copy of that and that could be arranged if you want to wait just another ten minutes.
‑ ‑ ‑
APPENDIX- The offending in detail
(Adapted from the prosecution opening provided for the trial)
NOTE:The victims’ identities are given by initials only, and addresses and other identifying information is omitted.
Charge 1 Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception— ME Bank $230,000
1)On the 27th June 2010 the accused contacted MM by phone regarding vacant land in Manns Beach which he and his wife owned and had advertised for sale on internet site DIY (Do It Yourself) property sales. The property was advertised for $95,000.
2)The accused purported to be Tony Tont and told MM he wished to purchase the property on behalf of Mark DeSilva, an overseas purchaser.
3)On the 15th July 2010 the accused lodged a home loan application online (internet) with ME Bank for a loan of $230,000 to purchase the property at Manns beach. The accused lodged the application in the name of Tony Tont of an address in Essendon.
4)The accused provided falsified documents to support the home loan application in the name of Tony Tont including copies of a Victorian driver licence, Victorian birth certificate, signed Contract of Sale, a Telstra bill, a Telstra Super statement, a Victorian Teachers Credit Union (VTCU) account, an ING Masterfund statement, PAYG payment summary, and pay slips. To add authenticity the documents were stamped as being a true copy of the original and signed by a purported solicitor, being a “David Peterson”.
5)The loan was processed by ME Bank and identified as fraud and declined. The accused attempted to obtain $230,000 from ME Bank.
6)The accused used an identical method of lodging home loan applications for three further applications, only changing the fictitious applicants’ names and personal details.
Charge 2:Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — CBA $240,000
7)On the 23rd July 2010 the accused contacted NF, a mobile banker with the CBA, purporting to be Mark DeSilva of an address in Essendon. He informed NF he was seeking finance for land he had purchased at Manns Beach.
8)The accused forwarded falsified documents to NF via email to support the application. These included a VTCU statement of account with the same account number and two company payslips. As a result NF submitted a home loan application to the CBA for $240,000 on the 25th July 2010.
9)A valuation was conducted on the land at Manns Beach, which came in at $70,000, which was well below the $240,000 the accused had requested to borrow. NF attempted to meet the accused in person but the accused informed him he was interstate and correspondence could be by mail instead.
10)The loan application was subsequently declined and the accused notified by letter and email on the 2nd August 2010.
Charge 3:Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — AMP $240,000
11)In July 2010 the accused contacted JF by phone regarding vacant land in Woorien North which JF and her husband owned and had advertised for private sale on an internet site for $90,000.
12)The accused purported to be Tony Tont and told JF he wished to purchase the property on behalf of an overseas investor for $300,000 with a rebate clause that the remaining $210,000 is returned to him.
13)On the 22nd July 2010 the accused contacted DD, a legitimate mortgage broker for AMP, purporting to be Mark Grosso of an address in Essendon. He informed DD he was seeking finance for land he had purchased at Woorien North.
14)The accused forwarded an AMP home loan application and falsified documents to DD via email to support the application. Again, falsified company payslips were forwarded, a VTCU statement, an Optus bill and a falsified birth certificate were also included which were all falsified documents. A false licence number was also put forward by the accused. The phone number provided by the accused was the same as that provided when he purported to be Tony Tont and Mark DeSilva in the first 2 applications.
15)DD commenced a home loan application but had some concerns and requested to meet the accused in person. The accused had no further contact with DD and no official loan application was submitted to AMP.
Charge 4:Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - CBA $240,000
16)On the 5th August 2010 the accused contacted NF by email purporting to be Mark Grosso of an address in Essendon, seeking finance for land he had purchased at Woorien North.
17)The accused forwarded a home loan application and falsified support documents including a birth certificate, Optus bill, 2 company payslips and a VTCU statement to NF to prepare and lodge a loan application. NF had concerns regarding the application and contacted CBA group security. An email was forwarded to the accused on the 12th August 2010 requesting further documents and to meet in order to progress the application.
18)The accused had no further contact with NF and no official loan application was submitted to the CBA. The accused attempted to obtain $240,000 from the CBA.
Charge 5:Obtain financial advantage by deception — Ascot Vale newsagency $825.44
19)At approximately 1.37 pm, on the 8th August 2010 the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper purporting to be Charlie Crisp and placed an advertisement in the finance section for re-financing with Charlie Crisp and gave a contact phone number.
20)At approximately 2.36 pm, the same day the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper purporting to be from the Ascot Vale newsagency and completed the advertisement. An invoice was forwarded to the Ascot Vale newsagency for $825.44. The accused made no payment for the advertisement.
21)The advertisement ran in the finance section of the Herald Sun newspaper between the 15th August 2010 and the 21st August 2010.
22)The accused received a number of calls from various persons wishing to re-finance their property as a result of the newspaper advertisement.
Charge 6:Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — ME Bank $125,000
23)In or around August 2010 DK observed the re-financing advertisement in the Herald Sun newspaper and contacted the accused discussing how he wanted to re-finance property he owned in Lockington in order to borrow $60,000.
24)The accused had contact with DK over a five to six-week period during which he requested and received photocopies of DK’s identification and rates notice. He faxed documents to DK for him to sign. Once signed the documents were faxed back to the accused. The accused also sent a courier to the address to collect the certificate of title to the property from DK which was delivered to a letterbox at an address in Essendon, from where the accused collected it.
25)On the 10th August 2010 the accused lodged a home loan application online with ME Bank for a loan of $125,000 to purchase property at an address in Lockington. The accused lodged the application in the name of Ronald JARVIS of an address in Essendon.
26)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included an Optus bill, CUA statement, payslips from his purported employer, a Telstra Super account and a birth certificate with the same number as in charges 3 & 4. This was purportedly certified by a CPA. The loan was processed by ME Bank and identified as fraud and declined. This attempt failed.
27)In early August 2010 the accused contacted DM, director of a conveyancing company, purporting to be DK and requested a Contract of Sale and a Section 32 be prepared in relation to a property in Lockington which he was selling. The contract and Section 32 were completed by DM and forwarded by mail to the accused in Essendon.
Charge 7:Obtain financial advantage by deception — Ascot Vale newsagency $471.68
28)At approximately 12.29 pm, on Saturday the 1st September 2010, the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper purporting to be Charlie Crisp and placed an advertisement in the finance section for re-financing.
29)At approximately 12.57 pm, the same day, the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper and purported to be from the Ascot Vale newsagency. He completed the advertisement and an invoice was subsequently forwarded to the Ascot Vale newsagency for $471.68. The accused made no payment for the advertisements.
30)The advertisement ran in the finance section of the Herald Sun newspaper between the 2nd September 2010 and 8th September 2010.
Charge 8:Obtain financial advantage by deception – AMP $460,000
31)On 15th August 2010 ML observed the re-financing advertisement in the Herald Sun newspaper and contacted the accused discussing how his wife AZ wanted to re-finance a property she owned in Roxburgh Park in order to borrow $60,000.
32)The accused had regular phone contact with ML and couriered a re-financing document to AZ in Roxburgh Park, which she signed. The document was then couriered to a letterbox at an address in Essendon, where the accused collected the document.
33)On the 18th August 2010 the accused emailed DD purporting to be Alan Farmer of an address in Essendon, requesting finance for an urgent property settlement regarding property he had purchased in Roxburgh Park.
34)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included a photocopy of a drivers licence and birth certificate purportedly certified, 2 company payslips, a PAYG summary, a signed contract of sale as well as a Telstra bill. As a result DD submitted a home loan application to AMP for $460,000 on the 18th July 2010.
35)The loan was approved with settlement taking place on the 9th September 2010.
36)The accused had requested thirteen disposal cheques be made to out in different names for various denominations. A conveyancer from a legal services firm attended the settlement on behalf of the accused and received the settlement cheques. They were collected by courier and delivered to a letterbox at an address in Essendon.
37)The accused collected the cheques and mailed them to ING where they were deposited into false bank accounts which he had opened to launder the money. Once the cheques had cleared the money was withdrawn at different automatic teller machines around Melbourne until there were insufficient funds left.
38)The accused obtained $460,000 from AMP which has not been recovered. No payment had been made on the Farmer loan.
39)The Title at the Roxburgh Park property was changed from AZ to Alan Farmer of an address in Essendon. AZ has engaged solicitors and is currently attempting to regain the Title to her property.
Charge 9:Obtain financial advantage by deception — CBA $126,000
40)In late August early September 2010 the accused contacted AF, a legitimate mortgage broker with a home loans company in Taree, New South Wales. He purported to be Martin James of an address in Essendon, seeking finance for land he had purchased in Lockington.
41)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included payslips from his purported employer, a driver’s licence, birth certificate and a CUA statement. AF submitted a home loan application to the CBA for $240,000 on the 25th July 2010. A loan of $126,000 was approved with settlement taking place on the 17th September 2010.
42)The accused had requested seventeen disposal cheques be made to out to different names for various denominations. It is the Prosecution case that this was done to minimize the risk of detection. A conveyancer from a legal services company attended the settlement on behalf of the accused and received the settlement cheques. They were collected by courier and delivered to an address in Essendon.
43)The accused then collected the cheques and mailed them to ING where they were deposited into false bank accounts in fictitious names which he had opened to launder the money. Once the cheques had cleared the money was withdrawn at different automatic teller machines around Melbourne until there were insufficient funds left.
44)The accused obtained $126,000 from the CBA which has not been recovered. No payment had been made on the James loan.
45)The Title at the Lockington property was changed from DK to Martin James of an address in Lockington.
46)DK has engaged solicitors and is currently attempting to regain the Title to his property. Of course, Martin James does not exist, but the bank were defrauded into lending money as against the property without the true vendor’s knowledge.
Charge 10:Obtain financial advantage by deception — Niddrie newsagency $353.76
47)At approximately 2.58 pm, on the 30th September 2010 the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper purporting to be Mark Harvey and placed an advertisement in the finance section advertising 24-hour approval for property with Mark on a mobile number.
48)At approximately 3.50 pm, the same day the accused contacted the classified section and purported to be from the Niddrie newsagency. He completed the advertisement and an invoice was subsequently forwarded to the Niddrie newsagency for $353.76. No payment has been made for the advertisement.
49)The advertisement ran in the finance section of the Herald Sun newspaper between the 1st October 2010 and 7th October 2010. The outstanding $353.76 has not been paid.
Charge 11: Obtain financial advantage by deception — AMP $360,000
50)On the 15th August 2010 KC observed the re-financing advertisement in the Herald Sun newspaper and contacted the accused. He wanted to re-finance a property he owned with his mother, IC, in Kilsyth in order to borrow $60,000.
51)The accused had regular phone contact with KC and mailed a re-financing document to him at Kilsyth via Express Post. KC signed the document and returned it via Express Post mail to an address in Essendon. The accused then collected the documents.
52)On the 8th September 2010 the accused emailed DD purporting to be John Scenna of an address in Essendon, requesting finance for an urgent property settlement regarding property he had purchased in Roxburgh Park.
53)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included a photocopy of a drivers licence, birth certificate, company payslips, a CUA statement and a PAYG summary. As a result DD submitted a home loan application to AMP for $336,000 on the 18th September 2010. The loan was approved with settlement taking place on the 30th September 2010.
54)The accused had requested eleven disposal cheques be made to out to different names for various denominations. A conveyancer from a legal services company attended the settlement on behalf on the accused and received the settlement cheques. They were collected by courier and delivered to a letterbox in Essendon.
55)The accused collected the cheques. One cheque was issued in the name of AZ for $60,327 and forwarded to her at her address in Roxburgh Park, by courier. One cheque was issued in the name of DK for $60,000 and forwarded to him at an address in Lalor by courier. (refer to charge 9). One cheque was issued in the name of KC for $15,350 and forwarded to him in Kilsyth by mail.
56)The remaining cheques were forwarded by mail to ING where they were deposited into false bank accounts the accused had opened to launder the money. Once these cheques had cleared the money was withdrawn at different automatic teller machines around Melbourne until there were insufficient funds lefts.
57)The accused obtained $360,000 from AMP which has not been recovered. No payment had been made on the Scenna loan.
58)The Title at the property in Kilsyth, was changed from KC and IC to John Scenna of an address in Essendon. KC and IC have engaged solicitors and are currently attempting to regain the Title to their property.
59)On the 17th August 2010 the accused opened an account in a company name with a courier company. The accused used the courier service a number of times regarding sending and collecting documents, settlement files and bank cheques.
Charge 12Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - AMP $520,000
60)In October 2010 DM responded to one of the advertisements for re-financing placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property he owned in Berwick. The accused had regular phone and email contact with DM regarding the re-financing.
61)Around the 7th October 2010 the accused contacted DD purporting to be Justin Mandy of Glenroy, requesting finance for a property settlement regarding property he had purchased in Berwick.
62)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included a photocopy of a drivers licence and birth certificate purportedly certified by a CPA, 2 company payslips, a PAYG summary and contract of sale. He further provided a VTCU statement. As result DD submitted a home loan application to AMP for $520,000 on the 8th October 2010. The loan was initially approved subject to valuation and later declined as suspected fraud.
Charge 13:Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - AMP $130,000,
63)In October 2010 CB observed the re-financing advertisement in the Herald Sun newspaper and contacted the accused regarding re-financing vacant land he owned in Endeavour Hills.
64)The accused had regular contact with CB and forwarded a document to him in Endeavour Hills regarding the home loan.
65)A short time later the accused contacted DD purporting to be Alan Turner of Glenroy, requesting finance for an urgent property settlement for land he had purchased in Endeavour Hills.
66)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support to the home loan application. DD commenced an application for $130,000 but did not lodge it as he suspected it to be fraudulent. The accused attempted to obtain $130,000 from AMP.
Charge 14: Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - ME Bank $264,000
67)In October 2010 AS responded to one of the advertisements for re-financing placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance a property he owned in Cranbourne. The accused had regular phone contact with AS regarding the re-financing.
68)On the 14th October 2010 the accused lodged a home loan application on line with ME Bank for a loan $264,000 to purchase the property in Cranbourne. The accused lodged the application in the name of TB of Glenroy. TB is the name of AS's mother.
69)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included a photocopy of a birth certificate purportedly certified by a CPA, company payslip, PAYG summary, VTCU statement, AGL account and Telstra Super account. The loan was processed by ME Bank and identified as fraud and declined. The accused attempted to obtain $264,000 from ME Bank.
Charge 15: Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - ME Bank $136,000
70)On the 18th October 2010 the accused lodged a home loan application on line with ME Bank for a loan of $136,000 to purchase property at 2/38 John Hunter Drive, Cranbourne. The accused lodged the application in the name of John Mitchell of an address in Glenroy.
71)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application as John Mitchell. These included photocopies of a birth certificate purportedly certified, a Yarra Valley bill, a company payslip, a CUA statement and a Telstra Super statement. The loan was processed by ME Bank and identified as fraud and declined.
Charge 16: Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - CBA $496,000
72)In early November 2010 the accused contacted AF (refer paragraph 40) purporting to be Justin Mandy of Glenroy, requesting finance for a property settlement regarding property he had purchased in Berwick.
73)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application as Justin Mandy. These included a company payslip, a photocopy of a driver’s licence and birth certificate purportedly certified, a PAYG summary, a CUA statement and an AGL invoice. As a result AF submitted a home loan application to the CBA for $496,000 on the 5th November 2010. The loan was process by the CBA and conditionally approved and later declined as suspected of fraud.
Charge 17Obtain financial advantage by deception - CBA $136,000
74)In September 2010 JS responded to one of the advertisements for re-financing placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance a property he owned in Colac. The accused had regular phone contact with JS regarding the re-financing.
75)In early October 2010 the accused contacted AF purporting to be Michael Fletcher of an address in Glenroy, requesting finance for a property settlement regarding property he had purchased in Colac.
76)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application: a photocopy of a driver’s licence and birth certificate purportedly certified by a CPA, 2 company payslips and a VTCU statement. As a result AF submitted a home loan application to CBA for $136,000 on the 11th October 2010.
77)The accused was in regular contact with AF and informed him the land to be purchased had changed from one in Colac to one in Endeavour Hills, for the same purchase and loan price. On the 4th November 2010 an amended application with the Endeavour Hills address was submitted to the CBA. The loan was approved with settlement taking place on the 31st December 2010.
78)The CBA had been monitoring the application suspecting it of being a fraud and a communication breakdown allowed the settlement to occur with the accused obtaining the bank cheques after settlement.
79)The accused had requested seven disposal cheques be made to out to different names for various denominations. A conveyancer from a legal services company attended the settlement on behalf of the accused and received the settlement cheques. They were collected by courier and delivered to an address in Glenroy.
80)The accused then collected the cheques and mailed them to a number of credit unions in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, where they were deposited into false bank accounts which the accused had opened to launder the money. CBA investigators, who allowed the false loan to continue in an attempt to detect the accused, became aware of the settlement on the 4th January 2010 and the cheques were cancelled prior to the funds clearing. The CBA suffered no financial loss and the Title to the property did not change.
81)The accused obtained $136,000 from the CBA but the money was recovered before it was deposited into accounts which he could access.
82)The accused attempted to open a number of false savings accounts with credit unions in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia with the majority being unsuccessful. Investigators allege these accounts would have been used to launder money obtained from the mortgage frauds.
83)The accused was aware the cheques from the settlement had been cancelled and ceased offending for a period of over six months until late June 2011.
84)The legal services company attended at a total of four settlements for the accused.
85)The accused had opened a second account in another company name with the courier company. The account was only used on the 31st December 2010.
Charge 18: Obtain financial advantage by deception — Lygon St newsagency $1,651.32
86)At approximately 12.21 pm on the 23rd June 2011 the accused contacted the classified section of the Herald Sun newspaper purporting to be Jessica Walsh and placed two advertisements: one for home loans and the other for personal unsecured loans. A contact phone number was provided for both advertisements. This phone number appeared in the ads.
87)At approximately 12.49 pm on the same day the accused contacted the classified section purporting to be Fabio from the Lygon newsagency in East Brunswick, and completed the advertisements. An invoice was subsequently forwarded to the Lygon newsagency for $2,032.64.
88)The advertisements ran in the Herald Sun newspaper for seven consecutive days from the 24th June 2011 to the 30th June 2011.
89)As a result of the advertisements the accused received a number of calls from persons wishing to re-finance their property and obtain personal loans.
90)On the 24th June 2011 the accused created an account online with SAI Global, a licensed Land data broker which allows access to Landstat (Victorian Titles Office) products and information via its website, in a nominated company name. The accused used the account many times to search for and obtain company details and property Title extracts. This allowed access to registered mortgagees on the title. The accused used a Compaq laptop computer and/or a Lexar USB thumbnail drive to store scanned copies of the documentation gathered from SAI Global.
Charge 19Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception - AMP $350,000
91)In late June 2011 FS responded to the advertisement for home loans placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property he owned in Ferntree Gully. The accused had regular phone contact with FS regarding the re-financing.
92)On the 4th July 2011 the accused lodged a home loan application on line with AMP for a loan of $360,000 to purchase property in Ferntree Gully. The application was lodged in the name of David Shawlin of an address in Brunswick.
93)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application as David Shawlin. These included photocopies of a drivers licence and birth certificate purportedly certified, company payslips, PAYG summary and a contract of sale, The loan application was identified as fraud by AMP and upon request from investigators the loan was progressed as normal. The loan was conditionally approved and dropped to $297,000 after the property had been valued.
94)The loan contracts were forwarded to the accused by Express Post on Wednesday the 27th July 2011 when, after being delivered to a letter box at an address in Brunswick, the accused collected them. This pick-up was observed by police. The documents were signed by the accused and returned via mail arriving at a mortgage services company on Friday 29 July 2011.
95)The loan did not progress to settlement as the accused was having difficulty with the out-going mortgagee.
Charge 20Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — CBA $440,000
96)In late June 2011 PK responded to the advertisement for home loans placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property he owned with his wife FK in Mirboo North. The accused had regular phone contact with PK regarding the re-financing and requested PK attend at a post office to have his identification verified to assist with the process.
97)The accused mailed an ING identification form to PK who upon receiving the document attended at his local post office and had the document witnessed and sent off. The accused then opened an ING deposit account with PK's details by ringing ING and having the mailing address changed to an address in Brunswick.
98)On the 28th June 2011 the accused contacted a mortgage broker purporting to be Jason Theodore of Brunswick, requesting finance for a property he had purchased in Mirboo North.
99)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included photocopies of a birth certificate and licence, company payslips from, PAYG summary and CUA bank statement. As a result the mortgage broker submitted a home loan application to CBA for $440,000 on the 4th July 2011.
100)The loan was conditionally approved subject to valuation and subsequently declined due to an identified discrepancy in the CUA statement provided by the accused. He had incorrectly added an amount when falsifying the document. Contact was soon lost.
Charge 21: Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — Westpac Bank $656,000
101)In late June 2011 CK responded to the advertisement for home loans placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property he owned in Doreen. The accused had regular phone contact with CK regarding the re-financing; CK passed on to the accused his private details including driver licence number.
102)On the 13th July 2011 the accused contacted a mortgage broker purporting to be Michael Charles of Brunswick, requesting finance for a property he had purchased in Doreen.
103)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application as Michael Charles. These included copies of a birth certificate and driver’s licence purportedly certified, company payslips, a CUA statement and a contract of sale. As a result the mortgage broker submitted a home loan application to Westpac Bank for $656,000 on the 15th July 2011. The loan was conditionally approved subject to valuation. The property was valued and as a result the loan amount was amended to $628,000 subject to satisfactory identification of Charles which did not take place.
104)The accused also attempted to open savings accounts in CK's name with ING and Suncorp using his personal details with a mailing address in Brunswick.
Charge 22Obtain Financial Advantage by deception — Westpac Bank $162,000.00
(controlled settlement with police involvement – day of arrest)
105)In late June 2011 KT responded to the advertisement for home loans placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property her mother owned in Paynesville. KT has power of attorney over her mother, who was extremely ill. The accused had regular phone contact with KT regarding the re-financing and requested that she forward copies of her mother's driver licence, pension card, rates notice and mortgage documents. KT forwarded copies of the requested documents by Express Post to an address in Brunswick.
106)On the 29th June 2011 the accused contacted a mortgage broker purporting to be David Chawlin of Brunswick, requesting finance for a property he had purchased in Paynesville.
107)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application. These included copies of a birth certificate and driver’s licence purportedly certified, company payslips, PAYG summary and a CUA statement. As a result the mortgage broker submitted a home loan application to RAMS (Westpac Bank) for $162,000 on the 5th July 2011. The loan was approved with settlement taking place on Tuesday the 9th August 2011.
108)The accused had requested ten disposal cheques be made to out to different names for various denominations including. A law clerk from a legal services company attended the settlement on behalf on the accused and received the settlement cheques. She had commenced instructions to fill in deposit slips to deposit the cheques into accounts nominated by the accused when she was spoken to by investigators. The cheques were handed to investigators and not banked.
Charge 23: Attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception — AMP $520,000
109)In late July 2011 NA responded to the advertisement for home loans placed in the Herald Sun newspaper by the accused and wanted to re-finance property he owned in Wheelers Hill. NA provided his private details to the accused who said he would speak to a number of lenders.
110)On the 4th August 2011 the accused lodged a home loan application on line with AMP for a loan of $520,000 to purchase the property in Wheelers Hills. The application was lodged in the name of Jason Theodore of Brunswick.
111)The accused forwarded falsified documents to support the home loan application as Jason Theodore. These included copies of a birth certificate and driver’s licence purportedly certified by a solicitor, company payslips, PAYG summary, contract of sale and VTCU statement. The loan application was identified as fraud by AMP and declined.
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