Police have charged a suburban accountant for allegedly laundering crime proceeds as investigators continue to trace AI‑driven mortgage fraud through bank channels.
A Melbourne accountant who founded a suburban practice has been charged over his alleged role in a criminal money‑laundering syndicate, which is believed to overlap with a growing wave of AI‑enabled mortgage fraud across major lenders.
Qi (Andy) Gao, senior manager and founder of PGY Accounting and Business Solutions in Melbourne’s east, was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) on 31 March and charged with offences carrying a combined maximum penalty of 27 years’ imprisonment – as reported by The Adviser sister brand Accountants Daily.
He is accused of helping a criminal group wash proceeds from illicit tobacco, drug importations, and onshore scam networks through complex financial arrangements.
In outlining the case, the AFP alleged that Gao was directly involved in a structured money laundering enterprise with criminal revenue streams.
An AFP spokesperson said the agency alleges the man “participated in a money laundering syndicate linked to illicit tobacco, illicit drug importations and onshore scam networks targeting Australian victims”.
Gao, who lives in the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury and is listed as a member of the Institute of Public Accountants, faces one count of knowingly dealing in the proceeds of general crime involving more than $100,000 and one count of committing an indictable offence for the benefit of a criminal organisation.
He has been granted bail and is due to appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 17 July 2026.
It is understood the group allegedly obtained loans from major financial institutions by setting up shell companies and submitting false documentation, in some cases created or enhanced using AI.
On 27 February, it emerged that Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) had self‑reported to police and corporate regulators over potential mortgage fraud totalling about $1 billion.
While Gao was not a direct referrer under CBA’s home loan introducer program, The Australian Financial Review has reported that his firm referred clients to mortgage brokers who were lodging applications with banks.
Gatekeeper professions in the spotlight
The alleged conduct has sharpened the focus on so‑called ‘professional facilitators’ – accountants, lawyers, and other advisers who can lend credibility to fraudulent applications.
AUSTRAC confirmed to The Adviser that it was currently working with major banks, law enforcement, and other regulators to map how far sophisticated loan fraud had spread and warned of increasingly complex schemes that exploit both technology and intermediaries.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas recently told The Adviser that the financial intelligence agency was assessing the breadth of the problem and noted emerging typologies where criminals use doctored or AI‑generated documents to wash profits from offences such as drug trafficking and human exploitation into home loans.
Last week’s arrest of a 32‑year‑old solicitor under Strike Force Myddleton – which is probing the so‑called Penthouse Syndicate – has reinforced that focus on gatekeeper professions.
The solicitor has been charged with multiple counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group.
Police allege that the syndicate gradually evolved from financing non‑existent ghost cars to large‑scale personal, business, and home loan fraud against multiple institutions.
Introducer schemes and aggregators under pressure
The alleged use of fake income documents and referrer‑driven business has revived longstanding concerns about bank distribution models, particularly introducer and referral programs.
According to the Financial Review reporting, suspect loans linked to the CBA matter were written both through mortgage brokers and via the bank’s own introducer scheme, with “several accountants” said to have supplied questionable income statements.
Interim Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) CEO Peter White AM said the unfolding scandal needed to prompt a fundamental rethink of how banks source mortgage customers.
He said that some distribution models had long been recognised as highly vulnerable to misconduct and called for the banks to overhaul the structures completely.
“It is accepted that referral and introducer programs can be misused and now they should be eliminated,” he said.
Major aggregators have also been drawn into the scandal, with reports suggesting that brokers within Finsure group may have been implicated in alleged fraudulent applications after bankers reportedly said “people within its network” could be involved in suspect loans.
In a response to The Adviser, Finsure CEO Simon Bednar said the group had not been contacted by any lenders or regulators about the current review and had no details on the allegations, while stressing that entry requirements for new brokers had been tightened.
Loan Market Group, the country’s largest aggregator, has also confirmed it is investigating two separate matters involving alleged home loan fraud within its network.
In a statement, LMG said the issues appeared to stem from referrer‑related activity and that the brokers concerned had been suspended.
[Related: Melbourne accountant charged over alleged involvement in money laundering syndicate]
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