Mortgage fraudster may be long gone

The con artist behind the $540,000 mortgage fraud may have stolen much more - and might not even be in the country.

Police have admitted they don't know if she has managed to escape overseas, and at least one local private detective believes it is highly likely she has left New Zealand.

"She'll be smart enough to know the whole deck of cards will collapse," said Dan Thompson, of Auckland Investigations.

Mr Thompson, who has almost 25 years' experience examining fraudulent documents, said it was likely she had committed other mortgage frauds that had yet to emerge.

He said one of the most fascinating aspects of the case was the use of the passports to convince the lawyers she was the home owner.

The passports were made out in the names of the people who owned homes. The woman used passports, along with Visa cards and forged Inland Revenue letters with fake tax numbers, to further convince lawyers she was the home owner.

She then asked the lawyers to raise a $180,000 mortgage on the properties. It worked - at least three times.

Mr Thompson said he doubted the passports were fake.

"She must have got them 'legitimately' at the passport office ... They'll have fake details but have somehow been obtained legitimately."

He said identity theft had been one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States for seven years.

"It's not just coming here - this shows it's here already."

Internal Affairs, which administers our passport system, refused to comment on the case.

Passport manager David Philp said the New Zealand passport was still a secure document, but warned the public against accepting one without digging deeper. "It is unrealistic for people to accept documents of any sort on face value.

Whether it be driver's licence, passport, birth certificate or bank statement - they are all susceptible to some degree of fraud. The passport is the hardest one but people do have to look at it.

Detective constable Blair Goudie said police had "good leads", although he was unsure if the woman was still in the country.

He asked the public to contact him at Auckland Fraud Squad if they had any helpful information.

The shopkeepers at the Hylite Dairy in Grey Lynn, where the woman visited during her fraud spree, said they had not been visited by police.

The Korner Bar in Kelston, where patrons and nearby shopkeepers recognised the woman, confirmed they had also yet to be contacted.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY