An Auckland woman and six other participants in a fraudulent scheme involving 11 properties in the city and totalling about $9.2 million, have been found guilty.
An Auckland woman has been found guilty of conceiving complex mortgage fraud, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced.
47 year-old Eli Devoy (AKA Ellie Stone, AKA Eli Ghorbani, AKA Elaheh Ghorbani Sar Sangi) was the principal defendant in the extensive mortgage fraud scheme.
Devoy and a number of her relatives and associates have been found guilty of Crimes Act charges laid by the SFO following a 10 week trial in the Auckland District Court.
Devoy conducted a series of property sales and purchases between July 2007 and December 2010 which deceived lending institutions into approving mortgage applications that contained false information and supporting documents.
The fraudulent scheme involved 11 properties in the Auckland area and amounted to approximately $9.2 million.
SFO Director, Julie Read said in a statement, “This is an important case for genuine buyers who are applying for mortgages as the cost of borrowing is increased by this sort of fraudulent conduct. We will continue to work with banks who are targeted with false information. Every lender should be monitoring this risk and people applying for mortgages should be aware that there are significant penalties for those who do not provide truthful information.”
Six additional defendants who participated in Mrs Devoy’s scheme are Mehrdad Ghorbani (AKA Mohammad Ghorbani Sarsangi), Mehrzad Ghorbani (AKA Mehdi Ghorbani), Hassan Salarpour, Nasrin Kardani, Mehran Ghorbani (AKA Massoud Ghorbani, AKA Ken Williams) and Javad Toraby.
The defendants will reappear for sentencing on 17 August 2016.
47 year-old Eli Devoy (AKA Ellie Stone, AKA Eli Ghorbani, AKA Elaheh Ghorbani Sar Sangi) was the principal defendant in the extensive mortgage fraud scheme.
Devoy and a number of her relatives and associates have been found guilty of Crimes Act charges laid by the SFO following a 10 week trial in the Auckland District Court.
Devoy conducted a series of property sales and purchases between July 2007 and December 2010 which deceived lending institutions into approving mortgage applications that contained false information and supporting documents.
The fraudulent scheme involved 11 properties in the Auckland area and amounted to approximately $9.2 million.
SFO Director, Julie Read said in a statement, “This is an important case for genuine buyers who are applying for mortgages as the cost of borrowing is increased by this sort of fraudulent conduct. We will continue to work with banks who are targeted with false information. Every lender should be monitoring this risk and people applying for mortgages should be aware that there are significant penalties for those who do not provide truthful information.”
Six additional defendants who participated in Mrs Devoy’s scheme are Mehrdad Ghorbani (AKA Mohammad Ghorbani Sarsangi), Mehrzad Ghorbani (AKA Mehdi Ghorbani), Hassan Salarpour, Nasrin Kardani, Mehran Ghorbani (AKA Massoud Ghorbani, AKA Ken Williams) and Javad Toraby.
The defendants will reappear for sentencing on 17 August 2016.
