Melbourne man pleads guilty to $79m home loan fraud
A Melbourne man has pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to defraud financial institutions after he was involved in a $79 million home loan fraud conspiracy.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation into finance broking company Myra Home Loan Pty Ltd (which used to trade as Myra Financial Services) found Mohamed Radhi Maki Ebrahim Ahmed played a role at Myra in using false documents to support the loan applications.
The fraud involved creating false documents including payslips, bank statements, citizenship documents and statutory declarations supporting at least 350 loan applications to various financial institutions including the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, St George Bank, Bankwest, Bank of Adelaide, ANZ, Bank of Queensland, National Australia Bank and Suncorp.
Ahmed, 28, entered the guilty plea at Melbourne Magistrates Court on 10 February after he was arrested in December last year.
The case had a suppression order, which expired on 6 March.
Ahmed pleaded guilty to conspiring with Najam Shah and Aizaz Hassan to defraud financial institutions by submitting false documents on behalf of Myra clients between December 2009 and December 2011.
Ahmed has been bailed to appear at a sentencing hearing in the County Court at Melbourne on 16 April.
Shah and Hassan were arrested and charged in January, and they have since been bailed and will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 17 April for a committal mention.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the case.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
Recommended for you
Adviser losses this week are quadruple the same period a year ago, with the industry falling into negative territory for the last 12 months.
Colonial First State has announced the latest manager to join its Edge managed accounts menu, focusing on providing investors with a strategic income.
Rising advice fees has prompted Radar Results to increase its price guide to a minimum of $3,000 per client to reflect the changing shape of the adviser landscape.
Investment consultancy Ascalon Capital has appointed a new partner, who joins from 20 years at Zenith Investment Partners, as well as a new chief executive amid a “bold new chapter” for the firm.
