Fraud

Boeing in court on fraud charge

Both accidents were down to flaws in the flight control systems on the 737 Max aircraft which caused nosedives.

Boeing was found to have failed to disclose information about the system but avoided a trial by agreeing to pay $2.5bn (£1.8bn) in fines and compensation.

Relatives of those who died are trying to reopen the settlement.

It means that for the first time, the company will be formally charged in court in relation to the two crashes, and will have to plead guilty or not guilty.

Jailed Tongan Cabinet Minister resigns

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa told Parliament Monday that Lavulavu had resigned according to a Kaniva News report.

However, the Speaker, Lord Fakafanua, said he has not yet received any formal letter of resignation.

Parliament was awaiting a response from the government Monday to confirm queries from MPs and the media about Lavulavu’s pay and entitlements.

The Speaker said they relied on information from the Minister of Finance this (Monday) morning telling the House he had used his power under the Finance Acts and ordered her CEO to stop Lavulavu’s payment.

Tonga Minister takes leave pending court ruling

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a brief statement yesterday saying Lauvalu's request for leave was approved. 

Lavulavu and her husband Etuate were found guilty of fraud earlier this month.

They were convicted for using student numbers they knew were false to apply for government grants.

The Lavulavu’s incorrectly received more than US$250,000 when they owned and operated the 'Unuaki 'o Tonga Royal Institute.

The court found the funds did not make it to the school.

The couple will be sentenced on 2 July.

     

Chinese 'love mother' jailed for fraud

Li Yanxia was found guilty at Wu'an Court in Hebei province on Wednesday of extortion, fraud, forgery and disturbing social order.

The former orphanage owner, who was once nicknamed "Love Mother", was also fined 2.67m yuan (£311,000; $388,000).

Fifteen accomplices, including her boyfriend, were also convicted.

The court found that Li Yanxia - also known as Li Lijuan - had "abused the orphanage's influence".

Solomons election fraudster registered seven aliases

Police said the 50-year-old man from Malaita province used different dates of birth and other details for each alias.

Only one of them was his true identity.

He was arrested on Tuesday and charged with seven counts of providing misleading information, an offence under the country's new Electoral Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $US6,000 or five years imprisonment or both.

Police said more election fraud cases relating to the voter registration period were being investigated.

'Afghan Girl' from National Geographic cover arrested for ID fraud

Sharbat Gula could now face a fine and up to 14 years in jail.

Officials say she was arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after a two-year probe in Peshawar, near the Afghan border.

Pakistan recently launched a crackdown against fake IDs.

Mrs Gula applied for an identity card in April 2014, using the name Sharbat Bibi. If the fraud allegations are true, she is one of thousands of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan who have tried to dodge its computerised system.

New Mexico secretary of state pleads not guilty to fraud

Two-term Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran is accused of funneling campaign contributions to her personal bank accounts and withdrawing large sums of money at casinos around the state.

Duran sat silently next to her attorney, who entered the pleas on her behalf in state district court. It marked her first public appearance since the charges were leveled in a 64-count complaint more than two weeks ago.

Chinese farmer pretended to be princess to commit fraud

Wang Fengying and her co-accused Yang Janglin said she was called Princess Changping and persuaded people to lend them money to help them get back assets worth billions of dollars held by authorities, the Lianhu District Court in Shaanxi province said.

They promised high returns on the investments and the fraud lasted two years until a victim went to the police, the court said in a statement Tuesday. In the meantime, Wang had bought a sedan car and put a down payment on an apartment.