SYDNEY, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese national appeared in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Wednesday, charged with defrauding victims who were trying to settle in Australia.
Quoc Dung Hoang, 28, faced court on Wednesday following his arrest in November in relation to the visa fraud scam.
Hoang used forged immigration department documents to convince one victim to hand over 300,000 Australian dollars (225,000 U.S. dollars), and another victim handed over almost 240,000 Australian dollars.
The presiding judge, Justice David Davies, said that according to the prosecution's strong arguments, Hoang had falsely portrayed himself as a lawyer and a migration agent, and falsely represented to his victims he would "assist them in relation to them obtaining residence... or assisting their children to do so."
Hoang was granted bail with his next court appearance scheduled for March. (1 Australian dollar = 0.75 U.S. dollar)
