A mortgage fraudster has been sentenced to three years and two months in jail for his part in a $33 million swindle. Simon Lawrence Wood Turnbull appeared for sentencing in the Auckland District Court today after earlier pleading guilty to 16 charges of obtaining by deception. The 43-year-old, lived out of New Zealand for years but was arrested at Auckland International Airport in June upon his arrival back into the country. SFO director Julie Read said today: "SFO prosecutions against those who commit mortgage fraud help to ensure an honest market where New Zealanders can safely invest at a fair rate." Turnbull's co-accused, bankrupt property developer and former New Zealand representative bridge player Malcolm Mayer, is serving a six-year jail term for what prosecutors described as a $47m mortgage fraud.

Source: New Zealand Herald November 18, 2016 05:09 UTC