Cindy Brad (52), a former financial adviser, appeared at Leicester Crown Court on 21 July 2022, where she received a three-year sentence having pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of acting in breach of a disqualification order.
Selvi Civi (57) also appeared in court and received a four-month sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation.
The court heard that Ms Brad, from Melton Mowbray, had previously been jailed for 18 months in 2009 after she was convicted of theft from clients she was advising, and obtaining money by deception. Ms Brad was also disqualified as a company director for 10 years.
After she was released from prison, however, Ms Brad continued to carry out criminal activities.
Ms Brad used three different identities to disguise her criminal past and disqualification status. This allowed her to formally change her name and obtain fresh identity documents.
Ms Brad used one of these different identities and supplied false banking documents to secure a £200,000 mortgage before reneging on the repayments.
The convicted fraudster incorporated several companies to enable her to act as a financial adviser, which was in direct breach of her 10-year disqualification order. While acting as an adviser Ms Brad made a fraudulent £100,000 loan application on behalf of Ms Civi using false documents.
Ms Brad also made false representations to the disclosure barring agencies in England and Wales, and Scotland, to secure certificates that would allow her to become an authorised representative of financial services companies.
Ms Civi, from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, aided Ms Brad’s criminal activities when she allowed Ms Brad as a financial adviser to apply for a £100,000 loan on her behalf using false documents.
On passing sentence, the judge said that Ms Brad had carried out “sophisticated forgery” and that personal difficulties did not justify the fraud carried out.
The judge also disqualified Ms Brad from being a director for a maximum period of 15 years.
The Insolvency Service intends to recover the proceeds of these crimes.
Glenn Wicks, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said despite having already served time for similar offences, this did not deter Ms Brad, and the convicted fraudster continued to apply for substantial loans worth thousands of pounds, using a variety of false documents and fake identities.
