Adviser Michael Joseph James Lewis received the sentence at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty at a hearing in June.
Over a 14 month period Lewis falsified employment and income details of mortgage applicants in order to deceive lenders into approving the loans. The FCA said his aim was to take ‘substantial arrangement fees’ from his clients, in one case he planned to charge a client over £12,000.
Lewis was banned from the industry by the Financial Services Authority in 2011 and fined £106,000 but continued advising on mortgages after this date.
The regulator decided to take criminal action against Lewis and discovered he has been providing mortgage advice to consumers until his arrest on 24 October 2012.
During his sentencing HHJ Byers said: ‘some of the people [Lewis] advised were vulnerable’ and that he made their lives ‘a lot worse’ by applying for mortgages they would be unable to pay.
Tracey McDermott, FCA director of enforcement and financial crime, said: “Lewis thought that he could ignore our prohibition order, but Lewis thought wrong. This two year jail sentence should serve as a clear signal to anyone who might be tempted to do the same.
“Where we take the step of banning someone because of the risk they pose to consumers we expect them to comply with that. Where they do not do so they will face the most serious consequences. This fully deserved two year jail sentence shows just how much his arrogance has cost him.”
