Former NSW mortgage broker has conviction and fine overturned following appeal

Guodong Liu, a former mortgage broker and director of Wealth Investment Milestone Pty Ltd (WIM) and Aus Mortgage Pty Lty (AUS), has had his criminal conviction for providing false statements to ASIC overturned, following an appeal to the NSW District Court.

On 27 November 2020, Mr Liu was convicted in the Downing Centre Local Court of three counts of knowingly making a false statement in documents lodged with ASIC and fined $9000 (20-306MR).

Mr Liu subsequently lodged an appeal with the District Court on 15 December 2020.

On 29 July 2021, the District Court heard Mr Liu’s appeal and overturned his conviction and fine. The Court still found Mr Liu guilty of the offences and placed him on a two-year good behaviour bond.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter after a referral from ASIC.

Background

Mr Liu had his lender accreditation with the ANZ bank suspended in April 2016.

In November 2016, Mr Liu, as the director of AUS, completed and lodged with ASIC an Australian credit licence application on behalf of AUS. As a nominated fit and proper person in AUS’s credit licence application, Mr Liu falsely certified that none of AUS’s nominated fit and proper people had their accreditation cancelled or suspended by a lender.

In January 2017 and December 2017, Mr Liu, as the sole fit and proper person on WIM’s Australian credit licence, completed and submitted to ASIC a credit licence annual compliance certificate on behalf of WIM. Mr Liu falsely certified that none of WIM’s fit and proper people had accreditation cancelled or suspended by a lender.

Credit licence holders are required to identify the people involved in the management of their credit businesses, known as fit and proper people. Mr Liu was WIM’s sole fit and proper person and was nominated as a fit and proper person on AUS’s credit licence application.

Credit licence holders are required to annually lodge an Australian credit licence compliance certificate with ASIC, in which licensees are required to certify that they are complying with their credit licence obligations.