Fraud accused not registered adviser
A woman at the centre of an alleged series of complex mortgage frauds was operating as a mortgage broker but was not registered, the Serious Fraud Office says.
Friday, May 24th 2013, 3:32PM 
3 Comments
by Susan Edmunds
It announced today that it has laid 46 charges against a group of people.
The primary defendant is Eli Devoy, 44, who is also known as Ellie Stone.
The SFO says she conducted a series of property sales and purchases between 2007 and 2010, and deceived the banks into approving mortgage applications.
The applications were based on false documents and information.
It has been reported that she is a mortgage broker but the SFO confirmed today that she is not.
The total value of the alleged fraud is $9.2 million.
Acting SFO chief executive Simon McArley said: "Financial crime in lending markets increases the cost of credit to all borrowers and has a direct impact on economic growth. SFO is keen to work with lenders to reduce offending in this area and augment the deterrent effects of SFO's prosecution functions with improved lending practices and procedures."
The complaint about Devoy was received in 2011.
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It kind of makes a mockery of the whole FMA and the process. We (and the act) are STILL NOT PROTECTING OUR CLIENTS as anticipated. I still believe it should be up to the product providers to be more careful with who they choose to allow to distribute their products.
As an aside - I note the use of the word "Broker". Was she a broker in terms of the Act definition, or is this simply mis-reporting and confusion over the term?