Former Bank Manager Sentenced to 26-Month Prison Term for Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Xu Yi Huang, a 32-year-old former bank manager from Brossard, was sentenced on Monday to a 26-month prison term for her participation in a complex mortgage fraud operation. The scheme involved fraudsters obtaining loans on properties they did not own, including one located in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Investigation and Arrests
Huang was arrested in 2023 along with 16 other individuals following an investigation by the Montreal police economic crimes division. The probe uncovered a fraud ring that targeted five mortgage-free properties, including two rental residences in Westmount and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, as well as three vacant lots on Nuns' Island.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
During a sentence hearing at the Montreal courthouse, Quebec Court Judge Pierre Labelle expressed skepticism about a pre-sentencing report that described Huang as a low risk of reoffending. The judge agreed with the Crown's recommendation for a federal penitentiary sentence, despite defence lawyer Luc Simard's request for a 21-month community-based sentence, citing Huang's status as a mother of a four-year-old child.
Huang pleaded guilty on November 29, 2024, to charges of fraud and laundering the proceeds of crime. She admitted to two key roles in the scheme: pretending to be the owner of a property on Beaconsfield Ave. in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce during a videoconference with a notary, using a fake Chinese passport to help accomplices secure a $700,000 loan, and exploiting her position as a manager at a TD bank branch in Brossard to facilitate major fraudulent transactions between 2020 and 2021.
Mitigating Factors and Judge's Remarks
Judge Labelle noted that Huang's actions placed two small loan companies in financial jeopardy and that she seemed more concerned about her own consequences than the impact on victims. He stated that her crimes warranted a 36-month sentence but reduced it to 26 months due to mitigating factors, such as her being a young mother with no prior criminal record. Huang was sentenced to 20 months for laundering and 6 months for fraud, to be served consecutively, with eligibility for parole after one-third of the term.
Additionally, Huang was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims. She revealed in court that she was paid $3,000 for her involvement and had quit her bank job before being charged, working part-time as a waitress to care for her child.
Other Cases and Ongoing Proceedings
Three of the five other individuals charged in the same case have been sentenced. Phuoc Hung Luu, 58, who used Huang's bank position to withdraw over $800,000, received a 42-month prison term this year. Two others await sentencing in April, while Adnane El Fehdi, 37, the alleged ringleader arrested in Spain and returned to Montreal, has a court date later this week.
