Ex-broker pleads guilty to false statement

ASIC announced the allegation in September last year, claiming that Mr He – also known as Darren He – filed the certificate while he was a director of N V I Lending (trading as General Mortgage), claiming that none of the fit and proper people under his Australian Credit Licence (ACL) had their accreditation suspended or cancelled by a lender, or had their membership with an aggregator terminated. 

ASIC alleged that, despite this certification, Mr He was aware that his accreditations with Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB and Westpac had either been suspended or cancelled between 2016 and 2018. 

Further, the commission also claimed that Mr He, who was accredited to act as an introducer for the LoanKit broker aggregator service, had his introducer agreement terminated by LoanKit in 2018.

According to ASIC, Mr He’s actions were in breach of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.

Following his guilty plea, Mr He now faces a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment, a fine of up to $12,600, or a combination of both.

In a statement, ASIC said: “Accurate compliance reporting is a critical obligation for credit licensees and ensures consumers can have confidence in the businesses they look to when applying for credit.” 

The commission has stated that, following a referral from ASIC, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions will be prosecuting the matter. 

The case has been adjourned until 29 March this year. 

[Related: Ex-finance broker sentenced on loan fraud]