‘Fragile’ fraudster tries to delay inevitable jail-time

[Pelican Press 0]

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‘Fragile’ fraudster tries to delay inevitable jail-time

A woman who conspired to defraud $21 million from National Australia Bank will remain on bail before her sentencing while her two co-accused await their fates.

Monika Singh, 42, Davendar Deo, 68, and Srinivas Naidu Chamakuri, 51 were convicted on Friday of a myriad of ******-related offences following a lengthy trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.

On Monday, they each opposed an application by crown prosecutors to detain them ahead of a sentence hearing hoped to occur later this year.

Chamakuri’s barrister Meredith Phelps said her client had only obtained a fleeting benefit from the ******, and had engaged in further attempts to gain more money which were “hopeless and very amateurish”.

The 51-year-old was not a flight risk, had a good character with no prior ********* convictions, she told Judge Donna Woodburne.

Chamkuri needed to remain out on bail after being diagnosed with major depression and anxiety, Ms Phelps said.

She noted her client had discharged himself from hospital in January 2020 when he was due for a heart bypass operation after requesting that his wife be with him.

“He is of quite a fragile disposition,” she said.

Prosecutor Gabrielle Steedman said bail should be revoked, arguing that Chamakuri’s physical and mental condition did not amount to the special or exceptional circumstances required to keep the convicted fraudster from prison.

Judge Woodburne reserved her decision regarding Chamkuri until Thursday.

However, the judge ordered that Singh could remain out on bail after finding exceptional circumstances to allow her continued release.

Primarily, the 42-year-old had responsibilities to a family member which were complex and would take time to organise before her looming jail sentence, the judge found.

There was also the issue of her own depression, stress and anxiety to take care of with Singh experiencing a mental health episode in court after being convicted on Friday.

Deo’s opposition to the Crown’s detention application will be heard on Thursday.

On Monday, his brother Sachindra Deo Maharaj took the stand in the court, promising to put up $200,000 in surety using the equity in one of his eight investment properties.

The trio were convicted on all 19 of the charges they were facing, including multiple counts of dishonestly obtain a financial advantage.

Singh was a senior associate at NAB’s Sydney branch, where she managed a portfolio of corporate clients.

In September 2018, she made an agreement with Chamakuri and another man, Shanmuganathan Gnanasothy, to use fraudulent bank guarantees to purchase property in exchange for commissions.

Two bank guarantees worth a total of $86,000 were used as deposits to purchase off-the-plan apartments.

More than $259,000 in commissions were paid to Gnanasothy, who is no longer in Australia, prompting police to issue a warrant for his arrest, the jury heard.

Singh and Chamakuri schemed to use internal bank vouchers from NAB to withdraw almost $16.9 million in cash while Deo and Singh tried the same strategy for a further $4.8 million.

The bank did not lose any money as staff intervened to prevent the funds being transferred.

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