A mortgage broker who used fake pay slips and documents from fictitious employers to secure home loans for herself and two clients has been sentenced to home detention.

Natalie Ann Carter pleaded guilty to a raft of charges in the Napier District Court following a Financial Markets Authority (FMA) investigation.

She was convicted of three forgery charges, two of obtaining credit by deception, two of attempting to obtain credit by deception, using a forged document, deceiving the FMA and making a false statement.

The FMA said between 2018 and 2020, Carter created fraudulent loan applications for herself and two clients.

She applied for seven loans totaling $2.91 million in value. At least three were successful, to a total value of $1,087,700.

Carter was sacked from a Hawke’s Bay brokerage in January 2020 and the FMA was notified of several concerns, prompting an investigation.

Judge Gordon Matenga sentenced Carter to home detention for 12 months – the maximum available.

FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said Carter’s fraud involved “significant planning”.

“She used her role and skills as a financial adviser to create fraudulent loan applications and documents to evade lending criteria that she and her clients did not meet.

“Her behaviour not only breached of the ethical standards expected of financial advisers but may undermine trust in the industry.”

As a result of her convictions, Carter is automatically banned from being a director or taking part in the management of a company for five years.

As part of the sentencing, the FMA also sought an additional ban under the Financial Markets Conduct Act to prohibit her from providing financial advice services for five years, which was granted by Judge Matenga.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.