Consumer lending: HK ICAC charges 44 with hire purchase related offences

In the first case, Lee Tung-sang, 46, former operator of Goodfield Trading Company (Goodfield); and Vernon Lee, 38, former marketing officer of Public Finance, who are suspected masterminds, face a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud. Lee Tung-sang alone faces one more count of similar offence.

Goodfield was a local company engaged in the trading of karaoke equipment.

The joint charge alleges that Lee Tung-sang and Vernon Lee conspired together and with 80 purported purchasers to defraud Public Finance by dishonestly causing applications to be made to Public Finance for hire purchase loans; causing and permitting the falsification of documentation required for the loan applications; and falsely representing that there were genuine purchases of karaoke equipment by the purported purchasers from Goodfield, thereby inducing Public Finance to make payments totalling over HKD7.4 million to Goodfield.

The other charge alleges Lee Tung-sang to have conspired together with other 20 purported purchasers to use similar fraudulent means to defraud Public Finance of hire purchase loans totalling over HKD1.6 million.

The duo have appeared in Eastern Magistracy for transfer to the District Court.

In the remaining 37 cases, the 42 defendants, aged from 27 to 62, are loan applicants or middlemen, who are employees, directors or proprietors of various companies, as well as insurance agents.

The defendants have been charged with a total of 41 charges - 28 counts of conspiracy to defraud and 13 counts of fraud for their alleged roles in defrauding Public Finance of hire purchase loans amounting to over HKD3.5 million.

They will appear in Eastern, Kowloon City, Kwun Tong, Shatin and Tsuen Wan Magistracies at 9:30 am in the next few days (August 11, 12, 13 or 16) for plea.

The alleged offences in all the above cases took place between September 2006 and October 2008.

The ICAC earlier received a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above fraudulent loan scams.

All the defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance, says ICAC.