The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned two directors of Found Financial Services for lodging false insurance applications.

The regulator found that between June 2015 and December 2015, Matther Manson Wallis and Rochelle Roanna Manoharan submitted insurance applications to Zurich Australia that were not requested by the clients and contained falsified information.

The applications, which were for life insurance, TPD insurance, and trauma and income-protection insurance, were falsified by Wallis and Manoharan to maximise the amount of up-front commission received by Found Financial. For a short period of time, the company paid the monthly premiums to make it look like the applications were genuine. In each case, the policies lapsed because of non-payment.

ASIC said it also found the two directors are 'not of good fame and character' and their conduct dishonest, misleading, and deceptive.

“People working in the financial services industry must be trusted to act with integrity,” said Peter Kell, acting ASIC chair. “If they engage in dishonest conduct, ASIC will remove them from the industry.”

Wallis and Manoharan have the right to appeal ASIC's decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.


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