Retail Banking: mortgage adviser convicted of fraud
A Canberra, Australia mortgage broker has been sentenced for submitting fraudulent loan applications on behalf of clients.
Mr Kelvin Skeers of Queanbeyan, New South Wales was sentenced to two years under a "good behaviour bond" of AUD5,000 having pleaded guilty to seven charges of fraud.
Skeers was formerly a mortgage broker with Tonadale Pty Limited (trading as ACT Mortgates). The conduct that formed the subject of the charges took place between December 2003 and September 2005.
Skeers was charged that he did knowingly use false accountants’ letters with the intention of inducing a lender to approve low-documentation (low-doc) loans for seven borrowers who might otherwise not have qualified for the loans.
Although the offences would normally have resulted in jail, Skeers' remorse and guilty plea were grounds for the lighter penalty, said the Judge.
So called "low-doc" loans, called "self-certified" in other countries, are where the lender relies on statements from the borrower and other supporting documentation but not does verify those independently. Such loans are also regarded as being one of the primary causes of the USA's financial crisis.
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