Remedy Housing Officers Sentenced for Dishonesty Offences

ASIC Media Releases

Filed March 10th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

Three former Remedy Housing officials, Brent Smith, Mahmoud Khodr, and Fue Mano, have been sentenced for dishonesty offences related to promoting interest-free mortgages. The company received $1.83 million in deposits from 107 customers, with significant misappropriation of funds by the officials.

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What changed

The County Court of Victoria has sentenced three former Remedy Housing officials for dishonesty offences. Brent Smith received 6 years and 2 months imprisonment, Mahmoud Khodr received 5 years imprisonment, and Fue Mano received 30 months imprisonment. These sentences follow their conviction for misappropriating approximately $754,574 of the $1.83 million in deposits collected from 107 customers between 2019 and 2021. The scheme falsely promised interest-free mortgages and guaranteed deposit refunds, while funds were used for personal gain or to operate the fraudulent scheme.

This enforcement action by ASIC and the CDPP highlights severe penalties for dishonesty in the financial services industry. Regulated entities should be aware of the consequences of misleading consumers and misappropriating funds. While no specific compliance deadline is mentioned for other entities, this case serves as a strong deterrent and underscores the importance of robust internal controls and ethical conduct. Non-compliance with consumer protection laws and fraudulent activities can lead to significant custodial sentences and financial penalties.

What to do next

Review internal controls for financial promotions and deposit handling.
Ensure all representations to consumers regarding financial products are accurate and substantiated.
Reinforce employee training on ethical conduct and fiduciary duties.

Penalties

Sentences include imprisonment (up to 6 years and 2 months), non-parole periods, and recognisance release orders. Reparation orders require Ms Mano to pay $106,950 to seven victims and Mr Smith and Ms Mano to pay $85,000 to four victims.

Source document (simplified)

Newsroom

Print Share Remedy Housing officials Brent Smith, Mahmoud Khodr, and Fue Mano have been sentenced by the County Court of Victoria for their roles in promoting interest free mortgages following guilty findings by a jury on 14 July 2025 (25-137MR).

On 10 March 2026, Her Honour Judge Quin in the County Court of Victoria sentenced Mr Smith, Mr Khodr and Ms Mano as follows:

Mr Smith was sentenced to 6 years and 2 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years and 6 months
Mr Khodr was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 3 years,
Ms Mano was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, with 18 months to serve followed by a Recognisance Release Order to be of good behaviour for 12 months. Between 2019 and 2021, Remedy Housing received deposits from approximately 107 customers totalling $1.83 million. Mr Smith and Mr Khodr were found to have jointly misappropriated $754,574. Additionally, Mr Smith was found to have misappropriated a further $19,500.

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘The conduct of Mr Smith, Mr Khodr and Ms Mano relied on building and maintaining trust with customers over long periods of time. This trust was significantly breached.

‘This matter demonstrates ASIC’s commitment to ensuring dishonesty in the credit and financial services industry is penalised.’

Mr Smith and Ms Mano dishonestly represented to consumers that:

Remedy Housing would provide them with an interest-free mortgage within 12 months upon their payment of a deposit of at least $10,000
if Remedy Housing could not provide an ‘interest-free mortgage’ to the consumer within 12 months, the deposit would be refunded in full, and
Remedy Housing was financed by overseas investors, including financing from a former Samoan international rugby union player. In sentencing, her Honour Judge Quin noted it was a sophisticated scheme that targeted vulnerable customers and involved the misuse of a significant amount of funds for personal use.

Remedy Housing had no investors or funders, never provided any mortgages, and the funds it acquired from customers were used to operate the scheme or transferred to the personal accounts of Mr Smith and Mr Khodr.

Reparation orders were granted by the court, ordering that Ms Mano pay $106,950 to seven victims and that Mr Smith and Ms Mano pay $85,000 to four victims.

The matter was investigated by ASIC and prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP).

Background

Remedy Housing was operated by Mr Smith and Mr Khodr as director and secretary respectively. Ms Mano was an officer of the company who was involved, together with Mr Leota, in promoting the business to consumers, primarily in the Pacific Islander communities in Australia and New Zealand.

On 17 June 2021, ASIC moved to shut down Remedy Housing and successfully obtained interim orders and injunctions from the Federal Court against Mr Smith, Mr Khodr, Mr Leota and Remedy Housing (21-149MR).

On 16 June 2022, Mr Smith, Mr Khodr and Ms Mano were charged with criminal directors’ duties breaches relating to interest-free mortgages offered by Remedy Housing (22-145MR) and were convicted of dishonesty offences on 15 July 2025 (25-137MR).

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