A Bermuda Housing Corporation Property Officer accused of a $1.3 million fraud applied for large mortgages claiming to be an architect at the Corporation ? information his bank did not check out before handing over the money.

The evidence was given to Terrence Smith?s trial by a Capital G staff member who said he and his wife were given $840,000 in three loans by the company.

Asked by Chief Justice Richard Ground whether the bank verified the information given on application forms before granting these, mortgage officer Andrea Proctor replied: ?No. It was at the bank?s discretion.?

Other witnesses yesterday spoke of how former Smith doled out vast amounts of cash for bills during the period of the alleged fraud, but failed to pay two businessmen tens of thousands of dollars owed for work on his $2.5 million Devonshire home.

The accused man is alleged to have diverted a total of $924,668 of BHC funds into his own pockets in the form of cash and goods for his home over a period spanning September 2000 to February 2002.

The prosecution case is that he achieved this by abusing his position of trust at the BHC to authorise huge overpayments to carpenter Steven Barbosa, who passed the profits back to him.

Kevin Pilgrim, owner of SOHO Applications, said his firm was engaged by Smith in December 2000 to install a $46,000 wireless telephone system at his home in Tee Street, Devonshire.

He said Smith ? who told him he was the main architect for BHC ? gave him a cheque for $23,000 as a preliminary payment.

Mr. Pilgrim told the court that Smith subsequently approached him to do work on BHC properties at two sites in February 2001.

Meanwhile, changes to the job at Tee Street caused him to hand Smith two additional bills totalling $20,000. He said that he had not received the $43,000 money still owed.

George Andre Morris, owner of security company Anderlin Industries, commenced work installing a $24,000 alarm system at Tee Street for Smith in December 2000.

He said this featured an intercom, surveillance cameras and remote-controlled gates but that a problem on-site increased the bill. He said that Smith owes $9,960 for the work.

Ms Proctor, giving evidence about the loans from Capital G, said Smith and his wife Veronica asked for a $600,000 mortgage to buy the house at Tee Street in July 2000. She said that Mr. Smith listed his employer as the BHC, his occupation as that of an Architect, and said he had a business named Architectural Design Services.

Mrs. Smith listed her occupation as cosmetologist, and the couple declared an annual income of approximately $160,000 per year and net assets minus liabilities of $624,000. A loan of $595,000, attracting a monthly payment of $5,200 was subsequently approved. Ms Proctor again dealt with the couple when they successfully applied in December 2001 for an additional $160,000 for renovations to the house.

The bills included more than $48,000 from Mr. Barbosa for kitchen work and $13,000 to a plumber who worked on six bathrooms, three kitchens and two laundries at Tee Street.

On this occasion, said Ms Proctor, Smith gave his occupation as Architect at the BHC and the couple declared an income of $191,000.

The form also declared investments of $250,000 and $2.5 million in fixed assets relating to the home in Tee Street. The loan was granted and raised by $85,000 in early 2002.

Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Larry Scott, Ms Proctor said the couple had not been ?delinquent? in relation to the loans. Earlier yesterday, former BHC finance manager Robert Clifford concluded evidence that he had begun Tuesday by reiterating that he would not have signed cheques given to Mr. Barbosa if he had realised his invoices were fraudulent.

Smith faces 46 charges of obtaining property by false pretences in relation to these invoices, all of which he denies. The case continues.