AUSTRALIA: HUGE FRAUD BUT ONLY TOKEN PUNISHMENT

I'll bet the Enron bosses would wish they were Australians if they knew of this and similar Australian judgments

Two women involved in a multimillion-dollar land titles scam have been sentenced in the NSW District Court. The 2002 scam was one of the biggest scandals experienced by the state's Land Titles Office. It issued dozens of new certificates of title to corrupt lawyers and others, without the knowledge of the true owners. The first some homeowners knew of the "loss" of their house was when fraud squad detectives from Strike Force Whitney came knocking on their doors.

During separate sentencing proceedings this month for Jacqueline Stumer, and Tanya Lee Rankin, the court heard that the properties were used as security by a Queensland mortgage broking business, Direct Money Corporation Pty Ltd. Jacqueline Stumer was the sole director, and her husband, Neville Stumer, was the chief operating officer.

The company told potential investors that a wealthy Queensland family - people with the surnames Maher, English and Friel - had a multimillion-dollar property portfolio in Sydney, and wanted to borrow against it, offering high interest for short term loans. The Land Titles Office was told the certificates of title had been destroyed in a cyclone, and needed replacing.

By the time the scheme came undone in 2002 35 properties had been roped in - properties belonging to strangers unfortunate enough to share the same surnames as the original English, Friel and Maher family. Judge Stephen Norrish said that according to the fraud squad $7 million was put up by investors that remained missing. The Herald has been told the titles have been registered back to the original owners. In one case the Torrens Assurance Fund paid one owner $515,000 so he could pay out the mortgage taken out on his property.

In the NSW District Court Jacqueline Stumer, 40, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of making false a instrument with intent, while Tanya Lee Rankin, 28, pleaded guilty to 13 counts. Another involved in the scheme, Rankin's boss, Gerd Zhiemer, has pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced in February. Two lawyers - Brian Dean Alcorn and Trevor Brown - have been given jail sentences. Michael and Grace English - who, the court heard, came to Neville Stumer looking for a loan but instead got involved in the fraud that initially involved their extended family's property interests - have been put on bonds. Jacqueline Stumer was given a suspended sentence with a 22-month good behaviour bond. Tanya Rankin also received a suspended sentence, with a two-year bond.

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