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Fraud is a very serious allegation, and accordingly the civil standard of proof is much higher. The evidence must accord with the ruling in Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 - Dixon J at 362: “The truth is that, when the law requires the proof of any fact, the tribunal must feel an actual persuasion of its occurrence or existence before it can be found....It is often said that such an issue as fraud must be proved “clearly”, “unequivocally”, “strictly” or “with certainty” (Cf. Mowatt v. Blake3; Kisch v. Central Railway Co. of Venezuela Ltd.4; Lumley v. Desborough5). This does not mean that some standard of persuasion is fixed intermediate between the satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt required upon a criminal inquest and the reasonable satisfaction which in a civil issue may, not must, be based on a preponderance of probability. It means that the nature of the issue necessarily affects the process by which reasonable satisfaction is attained. When, in a civil proceeding, a question arises whether a crime has been committed, the standard of persuasion is, according to the better opinion, the same as upon other civil issues... But, consistently with this opinion, weight is given to the presumption of innocence and exactness of proof is expected.”  

Fraud can be difficult to prove so keep a close watch on your financial statements and property title deeds, or you may have been mislead or deceived. If you suspect fraud, contact us. Mortgage fraud may include inflated property valuations, false information, false financial and employment details, fraudulent loan applications, corrupt in house banking employees, and other complex scheme and arrangements involving mortgage brokers. In Cornell’s case, the employee Cornell was charged with various offences, including claims that she assisted people to take out loans of $3.9 million using fake information. As a former employee at St George Bank, Cornell allegedly solicited a third party, and bribed an employee of the National Australia Bank for the purpose of influencing a loan approval. A Mortgage Broker in another case submitted a false loan application to the Bank, which included false information regarding the mortgagee’s employment. A third person then befriended the mortgagee and obtained joint access to the loan account. Upon payment of the loan amount, the third person immediately withdrew that amount and disappeared. After a period of 2 years of litigation, the Bank agreed to return the property to the mortgagee in this case, and pay all of the legal costs incurred. Fraud may relate to any type of services or information.