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ASIC announced today that one broker has pleaded guilty to identity theft while an accountant has been banned for loan fraud.
ASIC announced that former finance broker Riyanka Puteri Shiraz of Sydney had pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court.
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She “admitted to stealing the identities of former clients so she could buy two cars, sell them to acquaintances and keep the cash from the sale”, ASIC said.
Ms Shiraz faces a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment for each charge. She has been granted conditional bail and committed to the District Court for sentencing on April 4.
The fraud occurred between December 2011 and October 2012 when Ms Shiraz worked as a business manager with finance broker We R Finance, according to ASIC.
An ASIC investigation found she had “used tax, employment and income documents and personal details of two former clients to create false loan applications in their names, without the clients’ knowledge or consent”.
Meanwhile, ASIC also announced it had permanently banned Perth accountant Arden Rodrick Wittensleger from providing financial services and engaging in credit activity.
According to the regulator, “Mr Wittensleger was found guilty of submitting fraudulent loan applications to obtain a benefit of around $6.5 million following an investigation by Western Australia Police”.
He was convicted in August 2013 in the District Court of Western Australia of 86 counts of gaining a benefit by fraud, and sentenced to eight years in jail.
ASIC said it had found his conduct “extremely serious, showing a persistent pattern of deception to gain a financial advantage”.
Mr Wittensleger has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
