Ext User(Torpedo)
08-02-2007, 01:13 PM
....by waiving the 'correct' Flag correctly !
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-detective-and-scammers-money/2007/02/07/1170524170237.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
The detective and the scammer's millions
Geesche Jacobsen
February 8, 2007
THERE was a time, before the Police Integrity Commission started
investigating, when things were going well for Con Kostakidis.
The fraud detective had just caught a man involved in the infamous Nigerian
email scams.
The case attracted worldwide media attention, intrigued the public, and must
have been a big coup for the assets confiscation unit, in which Kostakidis
worked.
It was October 2003, and Nick Marinellis, the Australian link in the email
scam, had been charged with fraud. He had ripped off people who believed
they would be paid for allowing the African syndicate to send money to their
accounts. But before the funds arrived, Marinellis had told them, they had
to pay "processing" fees.
Marinellis is thought to have received $5 million from victims worldwide.
The assets confiscation unit proudly announced it had seized $1.5 million in
assets from Marinellis, including a $900,000 home in Cecil Hills and other
properties. Kostakidis's boss, Inspector Jennifer Thommeny, said proceeds of
the seizures would go to the Victims Compensation Fund.
But it is doubtful how much, if any, of the money from Marinellis's targets
ever made it to victims of crimes in NSW; and a closer look reveals an
intriguing connection involving the fraud detective, the Nigerian scammer
and a bankrupt finance broker.
By all accounts Marinellis, a father of two on a disability pension,
appeared to be dripping with money: he wore gold chains and had a dozen
properties to his name and, only 10 weeks before he was arrested, had bought
a six-bedroom home with a private cinema and a pool in Cecil Hills.
Marinellis, then aged 39, and his wife Artemis paid $900,000 for the
property which was last sold less than four years earlier, in October 1999,
for $365,000.
The people who sold it to Marinellis were relatives of Viron Hondros, a now
bankrupt self-styled mortgage broker.
The NSW Crime Commission had placed a caveat on Marinellis's Cecil Hills
property, his former home in Lurnea and several blocks of land in the
country.
In May 2004 Marinellis pleaded guilty to 11 charges, four days after the
Crime Commission dropped its caveat on the Lurnea property.
A few months after the guilty plea, the Cecil Hills property was sold,
netting only $600,000.
What the asset confiscation unit had not told the public was that Marinellis
had taken out a $720,000 mortgage on the home, leaving the bank $120,000 in
the red, and police with nothing to confiscate.
The only people who seem to have done well from this deal must have been the
Hondros family.
Viron Hondros had been the subject of a Herald report in which 11 fellow
Greek Australians claimed he had ruined their lives by persuading them to
take out large loans against their homes and investing the money in risky
real estate deals. When the property market dropped, many of them were
unable to pay their instalments and were left with nothing.
When looking into the Cecil Hills deal, Kostakidis and his fellow fraud
detectives discovered Marinellis had received the mortgage by claiming to be
lawfully employed, and by overstating his income.
Kostakidis charged him with making a false statement on the mortgage
application.
It is unclear what, if any, role Mr Hondros, a mortgage broker, played in
the deal on the Cecil Hills family home which was owned by his wife Angela,
his daughters Nikie Koch and Helen El-Khoury, and Elias El-Khoury.
Mr Hondros, who told the Herald last year he had never done a dishonest
thing in his life, has not been charged with anything in relation to
Marinellis or any other property deal.
Now, just over three years after the spectacular arrest of Nick Marinellis,
Con Kostakidis is charged with the same offence - making a false statement
to help someone obtain a mortgage.
The Herald can reveal that since charging Marinellis, Kostakidis became
involved in at least four business and property ventures with Mr Hondros and
his daughters.
In November 2004 Marinellis was sentenced to at least four years and four
months in prison, later cut by five months on appeal.
Two weeks later Kostakidis bought a 25 per cent share in a $920,000 Ashfield
property with another man and a company linked to Mr Hondros.
Four weeks before Mr Hondros was declared bankrupt in November 2005,
Kostakidis and another of Mr Hondros's daughters, Fiona, started a business,
HK Investments, which has since been deregistered.
The following month, her sister Helen became briefly involved in the Oxford
Street cafe Kostakidis now runs. The cafe was previously run by a woman
charged with drug dealing whose assets police are believed to have
confiscated.
The PIC alleges that Kostakidis falsely claimed to have employed Aisha Ahmed
in the cafe, so she and fraud detective Rafiq Ahmed could get a home loan
from the Commonwealth Bank.
Late last year Helen El-Khoury, nee Hondros, started another business with
Kostakidis, KCS NSW Pty Ltd, which he is no longer involved with.
In another twist, Kostakidis is still a joint owner in a mortgage business
called Auslend Homeloans with a woman, Polixeni (Jenny) Fountas, who had
leased a shop part-owned by Mr Hondros.
No money was recovered from the Cecil Hills or the Lurnea homes. The other
properties were largely empty blocks of land, bought for a few thousand
dollars. It is unclear if any money from them flowed back into state
coffers.
A week after his arrest, Marinellis wrote to his wife from prison: "Please
contact the two officers ... tell them I have fresh information for them,
the deal, honey, is to cut a deal to offer them a percentage of the game,
say 20 per cent."
He also wrote to his girlfriend: "I am of the opinion that the two officers
mentioned above are corrupt, and am willing to offer 20 per cent."
The letters were intercepted and Kostakidis charged Marinellis with
intending to pervert the course of justice. The Court of Criminal Appeal
emphasised there was no suggestion the police officers named by Marinellis
were corruptible, or that his wife or girlfriend would have acted as had
been requested.
Marinellis is eligible for parole in October. Kostakidis is due to face
court today. The PIC is continuing to investigate the fraud squad detective.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-detective-and-scammers-money/2007/02/07/1170524170237.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
The detective and the scammer's millions
Geesche Jacobsen
February 8, 2007
THERE was a time, before the Police Integrity Commission started
investigating, when things were going well for Con Kostakidis.
The fraud detective had just caught a man involved in the infamous Nigerian
email scams.
The case attracted worldwide media attention, intrigued the public, and must
have been a big coup for the assets confiscation unit, in which Kostakidis
worked.
It was October 2003, and Nick Marinellis, the Australian link in the email
scam, had been charged with fraud. He had ripped off people who believed
they would be paid for allowing the African syndicate to send money to their
accounts. But before the funds arrived, Marinellis had told them, they had
to pay "processing" fees.
Marinellis is thought to have received $5 million from victims worldwide.
The assets confiscation unit proudly announced it had seized $1.5 million in
assets from Marinellis, including a $900,000 home in Cecil Hills and other
properties. Kostakidis's boss, Inspector Jennifer Thommeny, said proceeds of
the seizures would go to the Victims Compensation Fund.
But it is doubtful how much, if any, of the money from Marinellis's targets
ever made it to victims of crimes in NSW; and a closer look reveals an
intriguing connection involving the fraud detective, the Nigerian scammer
and a bankrupt finance broker.
By all accounts Marinellis, a father of two on a disability pension,
appeared to be dripping with money: he wore gold chains and had a dozen
properties to his name and, only 10 weeks before he was arrested, had bought
a six-bedroom home with a private cinema and a pool in Cecil Hills.
Marinellis, then aged 39, and his wife Artemis paid $900,000 for the
property which was last sold less than four years earlier, in October 1999,
for $365,000.
The people who sold it to Marinellis were relatives of Viron Hondros, a now
bankrupt self-styled mortgage broker.
The NSW Crime Commission had placed a caveat on Marinellis's Cecil Hills
property, his former home in Lurnea and several blocks of land in the
country.
In May 2004 Marinellis pleaded guilty to 11 charges, four days after the
Crime Commission dropped its caveat on the Lurnea property.
A few months after the guilty plea, the Cecil Hills property was sold,
netting only $600,000.
What the asset confiscation unit had not told the public was that Marinellis
had taken out a $720,000 mortgage on the home, leaving the bank $120,000 in
the red, and police with nothing to confiscate.
The only people who seem to have done well from this deal must have been the
Hondros family.
Viron Hondros had been the subject of a Herald report in which 11 fellow
Greek Australians claimed he had ruined their lives by persuading them to
take out large loans against their homes and investing the money in risky
real estate deals. When the property market dropped, many of them were
unable to pay their instalments and were left with nothing.
When looking into the Cecil Hills deal, Kostakidis and his fellow fraud
detectives discovered Marinellis had received the mortgage by claiming to be
lawfully employed, and by overstating his income.
Kostakidis charged him with making a false statement on the mortgage
application.
It is unclear what, if any, role Mr Hondros, a mortgage broker, played in
the deal on the Cecil Hills family home which was owned by his wife Angela,
his daughters Nikie Koch and Helen El-Khoury, and Elias El-Khoury.
Mr Hondros, who told the Herald last year he had never done a dishonest
thing in his life, has not been charged with anything in relation to
Marinellis or any other property deal.
Now, just over three years after the spectacular arrest of Nick Marinellis,
Con Kostakidis is charged with the same offence - making a false statement
to help someone obtain a mortgage.
The Herald can reveal that since charging Marinellis, Kostakidis became
involved in at least four business and property ventures with Mr Hondros and
his daughters.
In November 2004 Marinellis was sentenced to at least four years and four
months in prison, later cut by five months on appeal.
Two weeks later Kostakidis bought a 25 per cent share in a $920,000 Ashfield
property with another man and a company linked to Mr Hondros.
Four weeks before Mr Hondros was declared bankrupt in November 2005,
Kostakidis and another of Mr Hondros's daughters, Fiona, started a business,
HK Investments, which has since been deregistered.
The following month, her sister Helen became briefly involved in the Oxford
Street cafe Kostakidis now runs. The cafe was previously run by a woman
charged with drug dealing whose assets police are believed to have
confiscated.
The PIC alleges that Kostakidis falsely claimed to have employed Aisha Ahmed
in the cafe, so she and fraud detective Rafiq Ahmed could get a home loan
from the Commonwealth Bank.
Late last year Helen El-Khoury, nee Hondros, started another business with
Kostakidis, KCS NSW Pty Ltd, which he is no longer involved with.
In another twist, Kostakidis is still a joint owner in a mortgage business
called Auslend Homeloans with a woman, Polixeni (Jenny) Fountas, who had
leased a shop part-owned by Mr Hondros.
No money was recovered from the Cecil Hills or the Lurnea homes. The other
properties were largely empty blocks of land, bought for a few thousand
dollars. It is unclear if any money from them flowed back into state
coffers.
A week after his arrest, Marinellis wrote to his wife from prison: "Please
contact the two officers ... tell them I have fresh information for them,
the deal, honey, is to cut a deal to offer them a percentage of the game,
say 20 per cent."
He also wrote to his girlfriend: "I am of the opinion that the two officers
mentioned above are corrupt, and am willing to offer 20 per cent."
The letters were intercepted and Kostakidis charged Marinellis with
intending to pervert the course of justice. The Court of Criminal Appeal
emphasised there was no suggestion the police officers named by Marinellis
were corruptible, or that his wife or girlfriend would have acted as had
been requested.
Marinellis is eligible for parole in October. Kostakidis is due to face
court today. The PIC is continuing to investigate the fraud squad detective.