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Lengthy mortgage fraud case draws towards a conclusion

A seven-year investigation into large scale mortgage fraud is moving towards its conclusion.

The last two of four south east Auckland defendants will go on trial on Monday in connection with an alleged $8.7 million mortgage scam which was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The four, who were based in the Flatbush area, faced charges of deceiving banks into providing loans to buy Auckland residential property between August 2015 and October 2016.

It is alleged the defendants gave the banks false information about their employment,

The last two defendants, Bryan Martin and Joshua Grant, will appear for trial in a defended hearing on Monday.

Last week, another accused, Sian Grant, pleaded guilty in Auckland District Court to five charges of obtaining or attempting to obtain bank loans by deception worth approximately $2.7 million.

She will reappear for sentencing on October 12.

Grant was the second person to plead guilty in the case.

Earlier this month, a property investor, Viki Cotter, entered guilty pleas to four charges of obtaining money by deception when she appeared at Auckland District Court.

She too will be sentenced on October 12.

The details of the housing transactions and the identities of the victim banks are unclear at this stage.

Despite the scale of this case, it is dwarfed by another mortgage fraud case, in 2018, when four people were found guilty of mortgage offences worth $54 million.

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