Lawyer jailed 6 years for HK$10.9m mortgage scam
A lawyer was jailed for six years yesterday for conspiring to deceive the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in a mortgage scam in which two loans totalling more than HK$10.9 million were obtained.
In sentencing Kevin Kong Hon-yui, Deputy District Court Judge Timothy Casewell said Kong was the 'major recipient of the money and prime mover of the offences'. He also noted that the scam involved many fake documents, including a forged identity card.
Kong, 37, the sole proprietor of Kong and Associates, which he set up in October 2004, was convicted on charges of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to defraud. Six months was taken off his sentence - originally 61/2 years - taking into account factors including a delay in the case, the judge said.
The court had heard that ICBC paid out a total of HK$10,978,500 for mortgage loans secured between June 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006, for two flats in Le Sommet in North Point.
Kong, acting for two women who had pretended to be buyers, had applied for the loans on their behalf, submitting documents such as a forged identity card, bank statements and a tax-return form to support the application.
Loans of HK$5.5 million each were granted. The money was transferred to Kong's account and the account of the company, Add Magic Investment, for which Kong was the legal representative.
Casewell said Kong must have known of the money in the accounts. Evidence showed the money was later withdrawn, and that Kong had used it to settle credit card loans amounting to HK$300,000.
One of the two women impersonating flat buyers has been jailed for 44 months for conspiracy to defraud and attempting to procure an entry in a record by deception. The other person is still on the run.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Neil Mitchell, who was splashed with black liquid believed to be ink outside court during the trial, was back on the case. He said outside court yesterday that he was still receiving treatment after the cornea of his left eye was burnt by the solution. He declined to comment on the October 27 attack, the motive of which remained unknown.
Kong's barrister, Charlotte Draycott SC, had expressed sympathy for Mitchell and said her client was concerned people might connect him to the attack, though no evidence suggested that.
