The violations are described as "serious contraventions, conducted over an extended period"
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has continued its crackdown on unauthorised advisers by securing a £4 million order against a rogue mortgage broker and its associates who exploited vulnerable consumers.
Justice Timothy Fancourt found London Property Investments (LPI), NPI Holdings (NPI), Daniel Stevens, and Tony Stevens liable for violations he described as “serious contraventions, conducted over an extended period, involving high levels of culpability including deception of the consumers and the lenders, and which took advantage of the consumers’ vulnerability.”
LPI arranged mortgages without FCA authorisation, it was claimed, while NPI allegedly bought properties and rented them back to sellers, also without authorisation. Daniel Stevens, the director of both LPI and NPI, along with his father, Tony, were found responsible for the breaches.
The four defendants have been ordered to pay approximately £4 million to the FCA, which will need to recover these funds before any compensation can be distributed to affected individuals, it stated.
LPI is also required to remove restrictions placed on the titles of four properties. These restrictions were used to force individuals to pay exorbitant fees to LPI, effectively preventing them from selling or remortgaging their properties, it was claimed. The regulator found that, in some cases, individuals were trapped in high interest bridging loans as a result.
“These sham brokers preyed on vulnerable people who were struggling financially and trapped them with exorbitant fees,” said Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority. “The defendants used a smokescreen of deception which cost consumers and lenders dearly.
“This was a complex case, but the ruling shows that these were serious breaches of our rules. It is only right that we can now pursue LPI, NPI, Daniel and Tony Stevens to compensate for the losses they caused the victims.”
Just recently, the FCA brought Peterson Okoh to court for advising on and arranging mortgages without proper authorisation.
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