A trio have been sentenced for their involvement in an illegal sale-and-rent-back scheme targeting struggling homeowners.
Through Secure Property Consultants Ltd, they targeted homeowners in financial difficulty.
The trio - Rajinder Gill, Amandeep Heer and Jetinder Sandhu - claimed they could sell their homes quickly, offering cash advances and saying they could stay in the homes as tenants.
Victims were encouraged to sell their houses at less than market value while Rajinder Gill charged excessive, confusing or hidden fees – totalling £925,233. Some victims were evicted from their homes.
Rajinder Gill has been sentenced to two and half years in prison for running the scheme without being authorised and illegally providing credit agreements and mortgages.
Amandeep Heer and Jetinder Sandhu have received community orders as accomplices in the scheme.
Secure Property Consultants Ltd is registered at an address in Southall, Middlesex, West London.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Mr Gill and his accomplices preyed on vulnerable homeowners, turning financial difficulty into misery to fill their own pockets. Sale-and-rent-back comes with significant risks.”
Once Mr Gill became aware of the FCA’s investigation in 2013/14 he tried to conceal these activities and shut down the company, telling clients not to talk to the regulator. Mr Sandhu and Ms Heer, who was Mr Gill’s partner, supported the offending.
Mr Gill pleaded guilty to 27 offences in relation to sale-and-rent-back agreements as well as credit agreements/mortgage contracts. He asked the court to consider a further 12 offences of the same nature at sentencing.
Following a trial, Ms Heer was found guilty of committing 3 similar offences.
The FCA has commenced confiscation proceedings to recover the proceeds of their crimes, with a view to compensating victims.
Mr Gill has also been disqualified from being a director of a company for 8 years.