Four charged by ICAC over $13 million mortgage loan fraud
2022-8-16
Four mortgage loan applicants were charged by the ICAC today (August 16) in separate cases for allegedly defrauding a financial services company into granting them loans totalling about $13 million by making false representations about their occupations and salaries.
The defendants are four mortgage loan applicants, aged between 49 and 57. Cheung Leung, Pang Suet-yin, Yeung Pui-hung, and Johnson Szeto Keung-sang, face a total of five counts of fraud, contrary to Section 16A(1) of the Theft Ordinance.
They were released on ICAC bail, pending their appearance in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (August 18) for plea.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Upon completion of the investigation, the ICAC sought legal advice from the Department of Justice, which advised charging the four persons.
The first three cases involving Cheung, Pang and Yeung allegedly took place between June 2018 and January 2019. During the period the trio applied for mortgage loans with OCBC Wing Hang Credit Limited (Wing Hang Credit) through two financial intermediaries.
The charges allege the trio, together with other persons, falsely represented to Wing Hang Credit that they were respectively senior managers of a company and an education centre, and a manager of a logistics company with monthly salaries ranged from $85,000 to $150,000 and with intent to defraud, induced Wing Hang Credit to approve their applications for three mortgage loans ranged from $1.7 million to about $3.8 million, which resulted in benefit to them, or in prejudice to Wing Hang Credit.
The case of Szeto allegedly occurred between May and August 2018. At the material time, Szeto applied for a mortgage loan and a decoration loan for a property owned by his father with Wing Hang Credit through another financial intermediary.
The two charges allege that Szeto, together with other persons, falsely represented to Wing Hang Credit that he was an engineering director of an engineering company with a monthly salary of over $200,000 and with intent to defraud, induced Wing Hang Credit to approve a mortgage loan of $3.1 million and a decoration loan of $800,000 to him, which resulted in benefit to Szeto, or in prejudice to Wing Hang Credit.
Wing Hang Credit has rendered full assistance to the Commission during its investigation into the case.
The defendants are four mortgage loan applicants, aged between 49 and 57. Cheung Leung, Pang Suet-yin, Yeung Pui-hung, and Johnson Szeto Keung-sang, face a total of five counts of fraud, contrary to Section 16A(1) of the Theft Ordinance.
They were released on ICAC bail, pending their appearance in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (August 18) for plea.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Upon completion of the investigation, the ICAC sought legal advice from the Department of Justice, which advised charging the four persons.
The first three cases involving Cheung, Pang and Yeung allegedly took place between June 2018 and January 2019. During the period the trio applied for mortgage loans with OCBC Wing Hang Credit Limited (Wing Hang Credit) through two financial intermediaries.
The charges allege the trio, together with other persons, falsely represented to Wing Hang Credit that they were respectively senior managers of a company and an education centre, and a manager of a logistics company with monthly salaries ranged from $85,000 to $150,000 and with intent to defraud, induced Wing Hang Credit to approve their applications for three mortgage loans ranged from $1.7 million to about $3.8 million, which resulted in benefit to them, or in prejudice to Wing Hang Credit.
The case of Szeto allegedly occurred between May and August 2018. At the material time, Szeto applied for a mortgage loan and a decoration loan for a property owned by his father with Wing Hang Credit through another financial intermediary.
The two charges allege that Szeto, together with other persons, falsely represented to Wing Hang Credit that he was an engineering director of an engineering company with a monthly salary of over $200,000 and with intent to defraud, induced Wing Hang Credit to approve a mortgage loan of $3.1 million and a decoration loan of $800,000 to him, which resulted in benefit to Szeto, or in prejudice to Wing Hang Credit.
Wing Hang Credit has rendered full assistance to the Commission during its investigation into the case.