The FSA confirmed that it had taken action to stop Benville, trading as Kingsfield, from arranging mortgages or conducting any other regulated activities.
Police are also investigating allegations that Benville asked borrowers to sign incomplete mortgage applications in an effort to complete the application to the lender himself, asking for a higher amount than required. It is also alleged that he told clients about the error and asked them to write a cheque to return the balance to the lender – cheques that were never passed on.
Following the allegations, the FSA issued an alert to consumers and has urged any consumers that have used Kingsfield to get in touch with Kent police.
However, a broker, who wished to remain anonymous, believed the FSA could not legislate for pure fraud in the market. He said: “This is more of a police matter than an FSA matter, but it is a warning for customers. The FSA tries to stamp down, but it can’t legislate for everything and this proves how stringent and essential that compliance should be.”
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