A stack of Australian one dollar coins stand on a U.S. one dollar note in this photo illustration taken in Sydney July 27, 2011. Australian consumer prices rose by more than expected last quarter while underlying inflation proved alarmingly high, reviving
IN PHOTO: A stack of Australian one dollar coins stand on a U.S. one dollar note in this photo illustration taken in Sydney July 27, 2011. Australian consumer prices rose by more than expected last quarter while underlying inflation proved alarmingly high, reviving pressure for an increase in interest rates and lifting the local dollar to a 29-year peak. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or ASIC, has accused Shiv Prakash Sahay, a Sydney-based finance broker, of fraudulent charges and banned him from offering credit and financial services starting on Tuesday.

Sahay is an ex-credit representative of AHL Investments trading as Aussie Home Loans. ASIC took the decision not to allow Sahay to provide any financial service further following an investigation that proved him guilty on July 7 in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court. He was presented in the court with three significant charges of making 13 untrue statements and 23 fake documents and producing 26 false credentials for home loan application worth AU$7 million.

The abovementioned statements and documents were submitted by Sahay to Banwest and Suncorp Bank on behalf of his clients. As a result, he was sentenced to 350 hours of community service.

“ASIC’s investigation found that between 14 November 2011 and 6 August 2013, Mr Sahay, whilst a credit representative of Aussie Home Loans, made false statements in loan applications and created and used false bank statements for 17 of his clients to attempt to secure home loans totalling approximately $7 million,” ASIC said in statement in May, as quoted by The Adviser.

The commission’s deputy chairperson, Peter Kell, said that the action taken against Sahay by the regulator indicated how serious it is in handling loan fraud matters. “We won’t hesitate to take strong action to remove dishonest brokers, who falsify loan documents to the detriment of their clients, from the industry,” he added.

Aussie Home Loans made a statement in July where it claimed cooperating with ASIC’s investigation. It said that as soon as they were aware of the allegations, it immediately terminated Sahay and also informed the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia about the matter, so it could cancel his membership permanently.

However, Sahay has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and ask for a review of the regulator’s decision.

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