Masood Zakaria: Fugitive’s home up for auction as wife admits to home loan fraud
The home of the state’s most wanted man has gone to auction, just weeks after his wife admitted to purchasing it with fraudulent loan documents.
Police & Courts
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The home of the state’s most wanted man has been passed in at auction, after his wife admitted to lodging a fraudulent loan application to buy it in the first place.
The second-highest ranking member of the Alameddine clan Masood Zakaria fled the country after he disappeared in November, wanted over an alleged plot to murder rival Hamzy gang member Ibrahem Hamze.
His wife Azza Zakaria was also charged at the time, and was recently sentenced after creating a fraudulent financial application that saw her dishonestly obtain a home loan for their property on Royal Place at Greystanes.
That home was seized by the NSW Crime Commission last year, and went to auction on Saturday afternoon.
The auction attracted about 12 people, many of whom showed up in luxury cars including BMWs and Range Rovers.
While the house was expected to sell for more than $2 million, it was passed in at auction only receiving a couple of bids, with the highest offer reaching $1.75 million.
While it didn’t sell at auction, a man went into negotiations with the auctioneer and real estate once the bidding had concluded.
The focal point of the six-bedroom home was the kitchen, which the real estate agency described as a “funky designer gas kitchen, packed with trendy custom lighting, marbled stone bench tops and splashbacks, 900mm gas cooker and stainless steel appliances including a double-drawer dishwasher and an island breakfast bar.”
The Zakarias are unlikely to see a cent from the eventual sale of the property, after the NSW Crime Commission placed restraining orders on the property last year.
EARLIER
The home of the state’s most wanted man is set to go under the hammer for an expected $2 million, after his wife admitted to lodging a fraudulent loan application to buy it in the first place.
Masood Zakaria, the second highest ranking member of the Alameddine crime clan – which has been locked in a brutal gang war with the rival Hamzy family – disappeared on December 15 last year.
Police arrived at the Greystanes home the couple owned that same day to arrest Massod over the alleged attempted murder of rival Ibrahem Hamze at North Sydney last August, and his wife Azza Zakaria on a fraudulent financial application that saw her dishonestly obtain a home loan.
Masood was nowhere to be found and quickly became the state’s most wanted man, with police now believing he fled to Turkey, while Azza was arrested at Star Casino.
She recently pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining advantage by deception at Parramatta Local Court, where it was revealed Masood was the man behind the fraudulent loan plan which tainted his wife’s clean criminal record.
The Royal Place home they purchased for $1.5 million in 2019, will be auctioned off on April 30, it can be revealed, after the NSW Crime Comission put restraining orders on the couple’s assets.
According to court documents, in early 2020 Azza signed a loan application document with Rate Money, a finance broker that specialises in obtaining finance for self-employed Australians.
The loan application was for a $1.5 million home in Royal Place Greystanes, and she wanted to borrow $1.125 million – 75 per cent of the purchase price.
Declarations were made in the application, with supporting documentation, relating to her employment history, business income, overall financial position, net assets, and address history.
But all of it was either entirely fraudulent or deliberately misleading.
In the documents Azza indicated she had an annual income of $240,000, stating she had been self-employed in the childcare industry for the five years prior.
She provided references from “employers”, explaining she was an “external consultant” to various childcare centres and as a previous child care director.
According to the documents, her duties included preparing extra curricular activities for children at the child care centres, observing and monitoring students’ behavioural patterns, drafting up education plans and training staff.
But police checks revealed the 26-year-old had never completed any child care certifications. She’d enrolled in a training course at one stage, but later withdrew.
In documents tendered to Parramatta Local Court, it was stated she “did not hold required certification or training to perform consultancy or act as a director,” and that the minimum wage for an unqualified child service employee was little over $41,000 per year.
The court heard Masood allegedly had full control over the purchase of the property, and directed Azza on the application to disguise him as the beneficial owner, protecting the property from confiscations that may be taken by law enforcement.
In documents tendered to the court, police revealed they had phone intercepts of Masood talking to the couple’s conveyancer regarding the loan.
The conveyancer advised Masood the property would settle on March 6, 2020, and asked him to make payment of $310,000 to satisfy the outstanding balance required for settlement.
Masood then allegedly arranged for the money to be transferred into wife’s account by an associate’s company. He then called Azza and gave her directions to transfer that money to the nominated account, however, due to the amount, it required the transfer to be done in a bank branch – which she did at her husband’s request.
The court heard Zakaria then received a message in relation to the money, and instructions to repay $8000 in mortgage repayments every month. He then arranged to pick up the keys to their home.
“It is alleged Zakaria is the beneficial owner of the property and the mortgage fraud was perpetuated in Azza’s name to intentionally conceal his connection to the property,” court documents read.
Azza was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order by Magistrate Cate Follent for her involvement in the scheme, which is set to expire in April next year.
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