A finance broker based in Lidcombe, New South Wales has been charged with breaching an ASIC banning order handed down in 2015 which permanently barred him from engaging in credit activity.
Five years ago, an ASIC investigation found that between November 2011 and August 2013, Aussie representative and finance broker Shiv Prakash Sahay made 13 false statements in home loan applications and created and used 23 false documents – namely bank statements – for 17 clients in an attempt to secure home loans totalling around $7 million.
Of the $7 million in loans for which Sahay applied, just under $5 million were approved from Bankwest and Suncorp.
At the time, Sahay was convicted of making false statements, making false documents and using false documents in home loan applications; in addition to being permanently banned from the industry, he was sentenced to 350 hours of community service work.
However, ASIC has now alleged Sahay engaged in credit activity involving 38 credit contracts between October 2015 and October 2018, dealing with loans worth over $17 million combinedly and earning $111,064 in commissions.
Last week, Sahay’s solicitor advised the court Sahay would plead guilty to the charges.
The matter will return to the Downing Centre Local Court in New South Wales on 7 April 2020 for sentencing.
If convicted, Sahay faces a maximum penalty for the first offence of a fine of $18,000 or two years’ imprisonment, or both. The maximum penalty for the second offence is a fine of $21,000 or two years’ imprisonment or both.
At the time of Sahay’s original banning in 2015, ASIC commissioner Peter Kell said, “The reputation of the lending industry depends on mortgage brokers and other credit representatives acting honestly and in compliance with the credit laws. ASIC will vigorously pursue offenders involved in falsifying loan documents and other statements for their own financial benefit.”
