Mortgage swindler's first stop - the burger bar

The daring con artist who swindled several banks out of $540,000 spent the first of her stolen cash on takeaways.

Documents obtained by the Herald on Sunday show the woman, in her late 30s, siphoned most of the money out of her account as soon as it was paid in. But she used the rest of the cash and an overdraft to buy alcohol, food and do other shopping.

The woman convinced three Auckland lawyers to arrange mortgages for property she didn't own. She produced fake identification, including passports, bank statements and credit cards - all in the real home owner's name.

The hustle has exposed flaws in the way banks give mortgages and in our passport system, raising questions about how the woman obtained at least one - and possibly three - false passports.

The documents obtained by the Herald on Sunday, which are also held by police and ASB bank investigators, show the woman used $500 to open an ASB account in the name of the home owner on September 16.

She then went to Thomas & Co in New Lynn, where she convinced a staff member she owned a West Auckland house. The woman said she wanted a $180,000 loan for renovations and a holiday - but didn't want family to know.

She instructed the law firm to call her on a mobile phone and to send mail to a Mt Roskill post office box.

According to the ASB documents, $80,000 was paid into the ASB account on Friday September 23 from the law firm's trust account.

On the same day, the woman withdrew $800 cash from an ATM, followed by three transfers from the ASB account to other banks. The first transfer was from Newmarket for $66,367.14. She then transferred $5000 from Greenlane and another $5000 from Remuera.

Thomas & Co owner Don Thomas has said the money was transferred into an account in a foreign exchange bureau which then paid the money out in cash.

The fraudster then went to Burger King and spent $28.80.

Over the following weekend, the woman returned to ATMs, taking out the daily limit of $800. She also spent $128.80 at the Hylite Dairy in Grey Lynn. On September 26 she took out another $800.

The fraud was discovered on the same day, when the Thomas & Co staff member rang the genuine home owner at home to tell her the mortgage had been approved.

The Herald on Sunday understands the homeowner was stunned to be told there was a mortgage on her property and told the law firm she had not asked to borrow money against her home.

The law firm alerted ASB, and the genuine home owner alerted her bank and had her accounts frozen.

Even though the bank was told a fraud might have taken place, the fraudster continued using the ASB Bank cash machine for another three days. On September 27, she took out another $800 - putting the account in overdraft. On the same day, she visited the Korner Bar in Kelston, spending $84.

On September 28, she withdrew another $100 and then another $400.

In Kelston yesterday, shopkeepers examined a passport photograph of the woman and said they recognised her from shopping locally.

One shop manager, Shivraj Mattu of Pizza Hut, said he recalled having a conversation with a woman who looked identical to the con artist about a week after Guy Fawkes night. "I clearly remember. She was sitting in here and was telling me she had three or four properties."

Staff at the Korner Bar also said the woman was familiar. Regulars at the bar praised the woman as a cheeky rogue. "The banks are always ripping us off," said one. "It was the other way around this time."

A spokeswoman for the ASB Bank refused to comment, saying police were investigating the fraud.

KiwiBank spokesman Bruce Thompson said fraud against the taxpayer-owned company affected its financial performance.

"It was a sophisticated fraud by a person who was able to present themselves in a way that didn't invite suspicion."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY