In May this year, Shiv Prakash Sahay pleaded guilty to three charges of making 13 false statements in loan applications submitted by him for his clients making 23 false documents, namely bank statements and then using 26 false documents in loan applications submitted by him for his clients.
Sahay appeared in Downing Centre Local Court yesterday, and was sentenced to 350 hours of community service.
The charges were bought against Sahay after the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) investigated his conduct between 14 November 2011 and 6 August 2013.
The ASIC investigation found that during that time Sahay made false statements in loan applications to Bankwest (a division of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Suncorp Metway Limited and created and used false bank statements for 17 of his clients to attempt to secure home loans totalling approximately $7 million.
Of the $7 million in loans for which Sahay applied, $4.796 million were approved.
Ask Consultancy Services Pty Ltd, a company controlled and owned by Sahay, received over $5,500 in upfront commissions and then ongoing commissions as a result of the offences.
ASIC commissioner Peter Kell said the prosecution of Sahay showed the regulator was committed to upholding the law.
“The reputation of the lending industry depends on mortgage brokers and other credit representatives acting honestly and in compliance with the credit laws,” Kell said.
“ASIC will vigorously pursue offenders involved in falsifying loan documents and other statements for their own financial benefit.”
