Larry Barreto appeared in Southwark Crown Court on 29 July for charges relating to advice provided and arrangements made for regulated mortgage contracts between June 2014 and March 2018.
Barreto traded as Barreto and Partners but as an unauthorised and a prohibited person, so he was not permitted to provide regulated financial services.
He was also charged alongside Tassib Hussain with the offence of committing fraud by false representation. Both men deny this offence and will face trial on 23 October 2023.
Hussain ran the firm Keystone Chartered Accountants.
Sentencing for the offences of carrying on unauthorised business will take place after the fraud trial has concluded.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commenced criminal proceedings against the two in April last year relating to mortgage applications made between January 2015 and March 2018. It is alleged that Barreto told clients that if they did not have enough of an income for the mortgage they needed, he would charge a fee which would be paid in cash to Hussain, who would then create false self-employment and employment documentation.
The value of the mortgages applied for was £3.8m.
Fraud by false representation is punishable by a fine in conjunction with or up to 10 years in prison, while the offence of carrying on regulated activities without authorisation can carry a punishment of a fine alongside or up to two years in prison.
