FCA bans fraudulent mortgage adviser with six aliases

The adviser was convicted under the name Shruti Patel in 2009 for three counts of theft, three counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, and one count of obtaining services by deception.

She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and was the subject of a confiscation order for over £13,000.

Patel was never an approved person, but was an appointed representative at an authorised mortgage advice firm in 2009.

Further, under the name of Cindy Brad, she was shown as an appointed representative of an authorised independent financial adviser from August 2017 to February 2018.

Although Patel was convicted under the name Shruti Patel in 2009, she had in fact changed her name during the course of the investigation and criminal proceedings.

Her birth name is Swati Patel but she is known by at least five other aliases, including Cindy Brad, Swati Patel, Swatiben M Patel, Churuti Patel, and Churuti Brad.

The investigation found that offences were committed over a period of around 15 months between December 2004 and April 2006. During that period, Patel ran a business in Leicester called Mortgage Deals for You and obtained loans and mortgages fraudulently by using the names and data of two of her customers. The total amount she stole from various banks and other institutions was £169,000.

In his sentencing remarks in 2009, Judge Hammond said the offence constituted “a serious breach of trust... It was a systematic fraud, carefully worked out by a professional over a period of time".