Lie-to-Buy Mortgage Brokers & the FSA.

FraudBuster

Tackling financial crime in the current economic climate

Current conditions present us with a unique opportunity: to prepare for the future by tackling weak practices now and to clear up the debris of the past. The incidence may have reduced for the moment, but it’s certainly not going away. Evidence suggests that new mortgage fraud continues to be perpetrated – recently we have worked with police forces on some very troubling cases involving mortgage brokers stealing mortgage advances from their own customers. So, there is clearly more work to do in this area.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/Speeches/2009/0427_sd.shtml

theartfullodger

Keep up the good fight FB! The country (very sadly..) needs guys like you..

Cheers!

Lodger

FraudBuster

FSA bans and fines mortgage broker £101, 279 for fraud

FSA/PN/061/2009
11 May 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned a mortgage broker and fined him £101,279 for submitting a fraudulent mortgage application and for concealing a fraud conviction when applying to the FSA for approval as a director.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/061.shtml

FraudBuster

FSA bans Bradford mortgage broker for mortgage fraud

FSA/PN/064/2009
14 May 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned a Bradford mortgage adviser, Sofique Ullah, who traded as M A Financial Services and M A Mortgages (M A Financial Services), for knowingly submitting mortgage applications supported by inaccurate and misleading employment details for himself and on behalf of his customers.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/064.shtml

Dan_1976

I wouldl like to know how many of the clients got fined or in trouble?

I bet they left the brokers to deal with it alone!

dunstonh

Has anyone noticed a trend on the individuals being fined or struck off? It is disproportionate and becoming increasingly so.

Dan_1976

Yes big D, had that convo everytime this type of news was released when I was in the game.

investigate

Taken From City Wire

A mortgage broker who lied about a police constable’s income on a mortgage application has been banned by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).



The mortgage broker was one of a trio of south London brokers banned by the FSA for faking mortgage applications with false passports and bogus claims about clients’ income.



Byron Brown of Millbank Mortgages in Lewisham and the Millbank Consultancy in Clapham South had claimed his police constable client earned £68,000 annually after his mortgage application was rejected when he declared his income at £44,000.


The officer said Brown told him to return his mortgage application form with the income section incomplete. When the officer was disciplined by his force for making a false declaration to a mortgage lender, he saw the income section had been completed with the false figure.



The second practice to be hit was Trekfree Associates in Peckham. Directors Erinma Didi Jordan and Samuel Adebayo have been banned by the regulator for making numerous false applications.



Trekfree was rumbled when a consumer found out the firm had taken out a mortgage in his name, without his knowledge or his consent. The directors were found to have used copies of the client's passport, given to an estate agent in a previous property deal, backed up by a false accountant's certificate signed by Adebayo.



The F S A said it was concerned about a third of the 34 mortgage sales Trekfree completed between May 2005 and December 2006.



Rafiu Adisa Akanbi, trading as Rafin Adisa Akanbi based in Greenwich, was banned after making 18 false applications using bogus passports, driving licenses and utility bills.



In one case Akanbi applied for several mortgages using the same photographs on different driving licenses. The FSA noted the different dates of birth meant the clients were not twins.



Akanbi repeatedly failed to co-operate and continued to submit mortgage applications while under investigation.



‘The actions of these brokers posed a risk to lenders, and banning them supports the FSA’s remit to tackle financial crime as well as to protect consumers and promote confidence in the financial system,’ said Jonathan Phelan, head of retail enforcement at the FSA.


The crackdown is part of a larger campaign to stop mortgage fraud.





One mortgage broker lied about a police constable’s income on a mortgage application without his knowledge. Another had taken out a mortgage in a consumers name witout his knowledge or consent.

Is there no line dodgy mortgage brokers won't cross in the hunt for payment fees?

investigate

MissMoneyPenny - Did the banks commit fraud?

Koexelex

Definitely. Some of them actively encouraged fraud, and promised to turn a blind eye to it.

For example, I was once visited by the Business Development Manager of one of the main UK lenders. He told me that if I was going to send in false payslips, I should screw them up a bit or spill a bit of coffee on them to make them look more realistic for the file


The lenders not choosing to check borrowers incomes is one thing, but actively telling brokers how to get cases through the system that should have been refused is something different.
Of course, they never but it in writing, but a lot of their reps told us verbally what needed to be done, and even showed us sales aids, such as " believable incomes" to put down for certain professions


on ocasions, I have even been told my lenders that they will guarantee not to check the clients income if they agreed to take out an insurance policy with them, as well as the mortgage

I have never ever arranged a mortgage for a client where I was not happy that a borrower could afford the payments, but I know brokers in the industry who openly boasted of getting someone 10 times income by using the lender's own tips

A lot of the high street lenders that are so called " pillars of society" are very corrupt organisations, believe me.


Naijpower - How about banning some lenders for a change. Why does it take FSA to detect all this. Some lenders knowingly passed some of these application out of greed and by making their criteria so easy and silly e.g self cert no checks; Day 1 self employed; Accept basic accounting reference ete etc

Koexelex

Agreed. Some lenders actively encouraged brokers to commit fraud.


Crown - When the Halifax and Northern Rock Business Development Managers phoned me all these years ago and told me that the would not check my clients income so 'nudge nudge wink wink' we can place more of your cases, I told them to get lost.

When the lenders introduced a trading platform where I could tell which would lend with no income checking for an individual slient, I was shocked.

And still now, the regulator does not grasp the scale of the deceit. I bet if I asked the mortgage brokers I know who has exagerated client income with fake bonuses, enhanced commission etc. they would all say they had


If only more brokers would enlighten everyone to the lenders behaviour throughout the boom times, it would become undeniable, that those employed from the top to the bottom at many lending institutions incited & conspired with thousands of mortage brokers to commit mass mortage fraud.

These times seen many individuals profit in the form of commission & bonuses ranging from hundreds of pounds to millions.

Then again, if only more mortgage brokers were in a position to do so!

FraudBuster

FSA bans broker for failings on mortgage fraud prevention

FSA/PN/076/2009
10 June 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned North London broker Akin Johnson for systems and controls failings which led to at least eight mortgage applications being submitted to lenders containing false and misleading information.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/076.shtml