Option 1 Mortgage Pty Ltd, run by director Almaza Souzie Boutros, had its licence suspended after Boutros was convicted of committing ‘serious’ fraud in April.
Boutros herself has been permanently banned from engaging in any credit lending activities.
ASIC also suspended the licence of Dean Mooney Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based brokerage, after it failed to obtain membership to an approved external dispute resolution scheme (EDR).
Only two EDR organisations are approved by ASIC. Under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, credit licensees must have membership to one or the other.
Failure to comply is taken very seriously, said ASIC commissioner
Peter Kell.
“‘EDR schemes provide consumers with alternatives to legal proceedings in respect of resolving complaints with their credit service providers, therefore, when a credit licensee fails to maintain membership in such a scheme, ASIC will act to protect consumers by cancelling the entity’s credit licence,” he said.
Both Boutros and Dean Mooney have the right to an appeal via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
