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Millionaire exposed cheating in low-cost home application

Millionaire exposed cheating in low-cost home application

Write: Aemilia [2011-05-20]

A MILLIONAIRE who has lived in a public rental home for 10 years was fined 5,000 yuan (US$770) after she was found to have falsified documents in applying for a government-subsidized apartment, the housing authority said Friday.

The woman, surnamed He, was found to have concealed more than 3 million yuan in family assets in her application. She claimed the family s total assets were only 170,000 yuan when she applied last year.

But an investigation by the housing authority showed He s family total assets were 3.65 million yuan. She has more than 1.3 million yuan in cash in her accounts and more than 80 bank transfers of at least 100,000 yuan since January 2008. Her husband works with Zhongshan Securities in a highly paid position.

Her family was among the 24 families punished by the housing authority Friday for fraudulent applications. Of these, six had assets of more than 1 million yuan.

The second richest on the list was a man surnamed Xu, who was found to have 2.7 million yuan in assets. Xu, who works for a cargo transport company, claimed he borrowed the money from relatives for cancer treatment. However, some of Xu s assets were invested in the stock market.

The housing authority said the 24 families could apply for an administrative review if they do not agree with the findings. The housing authority will soon release another list of 300 families who had submitted fraudulent applications.

People who submit fraudulent applications for subsidized housing face a 5,000 yuan. Many people say the punishment is too light and does not serve as a deterrent. City lawmakers will consider revising the rules to increase penalties. <2001> (Han Ximin)