A court has convicted and fined Melbourne woman Ha Thi “Miki” Nguyen for a second time after she was caught posing as a registered builder, leaving her victims with unfinished jobs and expensive repair bills.
The 48 year old from Malvern East, who has several aliases, pleaded guilty to 12 charges under the Building Act relating to illegal home renovations in Wantirna South, Doncaster and Donvale.
The charges include representing herself as a registered builder when she was not, carrying out domestic building work under a Major Domestic Building Contract (MDBC) and arranging the carrying out of building work when not covered by the required insurance.
Magistrate Jennifer Tregent convicted Nguyen on all charges and fined her $170,000 saying she was lucky not to have also been charged under the Crimes Act which carries jail time.
The Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court heard all three homeowners made contact with Nguyen through Facebook where she advertised under the names Tim Reno and AZ Homes.
In each case Nguyen claimed she was a registered builder, owned a construction company with her husband which employed 40 people and had more than 20 years’ experience in renovation work.
After agreeing to the job and receiving payments, Nguyen, also known as Minh Truong Tran, sent workers out to start the job, only to disappear after the homeowners questioned the shoddy work or her credientials.
Nguyen was convicted and fined in April 2022 at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for similar offences with the then Magistrate describing her as a “dishonest cunning thief”.
Consumers should always use a registered builder for jobs over $10,000 and ensure the builder has mandatory building insurance in place.
You can check a practitioner’s licence, registration or disciplinary and prosecution history at bpc.vic.gov.au/check.
If you know of an unregistered builder or plumber, you can report them to us at bpc.vic.gov.au/report.
Quotes attributable to BPC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Anna Cronin
“This case highlights how important it is to ensure your building practitioner is appropriately registered for jobs over $10,000.”