Two individuals have been sentenced with multiple counts of fraud by false representation and for carrying on regulated activities without authorisation.
Yesterday (March 27) Larry Barreto and Tassib Hussain were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after a prosecution was brought against them by the FCA which saw the pair convicted in November 2023.
Between January 1 2015 and March 2018, the FCA said Barreto gave advice in return for a fee without the necessary FCA authorisation to people looking to take out residential mortgages with the total value of the mortgages applied for being around £3mn.
In 11 cases, Barreto dishonestly inflated the applicant’s income in their application to the lender and then paid Hussain, who created false self-employment and employment documentation to support the inflated mortgage applications for clients with insufficient income.
Hussain produced multiple fake HMRC documents containing false figures which in each case was sent on to the lender by Barreto.
Hussain also claimed to employ two of the applicants and produced fake contracts of employment and payslips which Barreto was aware of and forwarded to lenders.
As a result of their activities, lenders granted mortgages to several applicants on a false basis, placing them and their customers at greater risk beyond financial loss.
Baretto was sentenced to a total of two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 120 hours of unpaid work for 11 counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of carrying on regulated activities without authorisation.
Hussain was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years with 120 hours of unpaid work for one count of fraud by false representation relating to 11 mortgage applications.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Barreto and Hussain chose a selfish path in pursuit of their own greed. Their dishonesty had unnecessarily put people at risk of taking out unaffordable loans and losing their homes.
“Their offending also undermined the reputation of the industry, and the legitimate advisers that work in it.
“The sentences should send a clear signal of the lengths we and the courts will go to catch and prosecute those who commit such acts of dishonesty. And for Barreto and Hussain the consequences of their offending will have far-reaching impacts for them beyond their sentences.”
According to the FCA, it has begun confiscation proceedings to recover the financial benefit obtained by the defendants.
alina.khan@ft.com
