Image credits - The Star
Five men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a mortgage loan fraud scheme that deceived a bank into disbursing over S$5.1 million for the sale of two properties. The fraud came to light when the nominee buyers involved in the scheme defaulted on their loan payments.
The five individuals—Sufandi Ahmad, Bijabahadur Rai Shree Kantrai, Kok Chiew Leong Nicholas, Juma’at Johari, and Mohamed Haron Hassan—received jail terms ranging from 10 weeks to seven-and-a-half years. The sentencing reflects the seriousness of their crimes and the significant financial loss incurred by the bank.
According to a media release by the police on Tuesday, Bijabahadur, who masterminded the scheme, orchestrated the fraud between 2014 and 2015. The operation involved manipulating the sale prices of two properties. The offenders arranged for the properties to be sold at prices lower than those recorded in official conveyancing documents. The difference between the agreed sale price and the documented price was then paid back to the offenders as cashback.
Juma’at and Haron, who were property agents, facilitated the fraudulent transactions for one of the properties, while Kok was involved with the other. The proceeds from the sale were divided among the conspirators.
As part of the scheme, Sufandi recruited individuals to act as nominal buyers of the properties. Forged income documents in these buyers’ names were submitted to the bank to support the mortgage loan applications. The bank subsequently disbursed loans totaling S$5.16 million for the two properties. The fraudulent scheme resulted in a loss of over S$1.79 million for the bank.
The scam was discovered when the nominee buyers defaulted on their loan repayments, prompting an investigation that revealed the extensive nature of the fraud.
Bijabahadur, 53, received the longest sentence, totaling seven-and-a-half years, for two counts of cheating and five counts of using forged documents. Sufandi, 44, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of seven related charges. Kok, 51, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for three charges. Juma’at and Haron each received a 10-week prison term for one count of engaging in a conspiracy to fraudulently execute a deed of transfer containing false statements.
The case highlights the severe consequences of mortgage fraud and the judicial system’s commitment to addressing such financial crimes.