The Melbourne man at the centre of an alleged $110 million mortgage fraud holds a senior position in one of the country's largest mortgage brokerage networks, raising concerns that the true scale of the potential financial losses is yet to be known.
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Aizaz Hassan, of Truganina, and Najam Shah, of Glen Waverley, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud Australia's four largest banks and half a dozen other lenders as part of a three-and-a-half year scheme.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission released a statement on Tuesday outlining the charges and alleging the scheme involved at least 350 dodgy loans made out in the name of customers.
The scheme was allegedly perpetrated out of the offices of lender Myra Financial Services at Footscray in Melbourne's west.
It is alleged the scheme involved the wide-scale forgery of documents between 2008 and 2011. The corporate regulator moved to shut down the firm in 2011.
Fairfax Media understands a number of large lenders and mortgage brokerage firms are scrambling to assess the extent of the potential damage, after being notified Mr Hassan was continuing to write loans until his accreditation was stopped on Tuesday.
That move came several days after he was charged in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
It is the latest in a series of massive, high-profile incidents targeting the big lenders by brokers or accountants that rely on forged documents taken out in the name of customers.
Last year, five men were charged with hundreds of counts of fraud and deception over their involvement in an alleged $100 million loan scheme. In that incident, CBA allegedly ignored evidence repeatedly implicating its staff in the scheme, and instead seized the homes of victims in a bid to recoup its losses.
According to documents with the corporate regulator, Mr Hassan has held his credit license via a number of different lenders since 2011, including RAMS, Premium Finance Services and, currently, Australian Finance Group.
A spokesperson for AFG said Mr Hassan, 34, had been suspended in light of the criminal charges and a comprehensive internal investigation was under way into his work.
His position was as a finance and operations manager at Cigna Financial - part of the AFG network - according to Cigna's corporate website.
Fairfax Media can also reveal that the second man in the alleged fraud ring, Najam Shah, was declared bankrupt last month. Financial records show a man with the same name and birthdate also spent four years as a bankrupt between 2003 and 2007 and was known by the alias Najam Zaidi.
ASIC alleges the two were the architects of a complex scheme that used faked documents to take out home loans from the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB, Westpac and a host of other lenders.
"During the period in which it is alleged the conspiracy occurred at least 350 loans valued at approximately $110 million were submitted and approved on behalf of Myra clients," ASIC said in its media statement.
If convicted they face a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
The loan applications were allegedly funnelled through Myra Financial Services, which was registered by Mr Shah's partner, Manija Zayee.
Ms Zayee, 39, has been charged with obtaining financial advantage by deception for using allegedly false documents to receive approval for a home loan.
Property searches show the couple lived in a $775,000 home in Glen Waverley that was bought soon after the alleged scam began. It was sold for $921,800 after her company was shut down in 2012.
Fairfax Media is not suggesting that the alleged fraud was connected with the property purchase.
