Greek-Australian Mortgage Broker Embroiled in Forum Finance Tangle

Investigations into allegations of hefty fraud by Forum Finance and Bill Papas have now involved Greek-Australian mortgage broker Bill Constantinidis.

Papas and Forum are accused of defrauding a trio of global banks of almost $400 million using falsified documents and forged signatures. The investigation into the alleged fraud has now entangled Greek-Australian Mortgage broker Bill Constantinidis and his brother Eric Constantinidis, who operates Forum entity Our Kloud.

Court documents show that subpoenas have been issued for two companies, Fort Matilda and Natave, according to a report by The Australian. Natave is owned by Bill Constantinidis, founder and CEO of Lending Association, a financial services company. Natave was registered on June 30 but is now being struck off after papers were filed on September 6.

Bill Constantinidis said Natave had been set up as part of a commercial arrangement with Papas, but would not divulge the nature of that arrangement, The Australian reported.  He said that he had commenced action to strike off the business after concerns about it were raised, but would not go into any details.

Fort Matilda is a Melbourne-based mortgage brokerage and investment company dealing with property-related transactions. A company spokesperson told The Australian that Fort Matilda has dealt with Papas and his business partner, Vince Tesoriero, in the past, but has not had any association with either party since late 2019.

Our Kloud is also being observed very closely, with many of its clients looking to cut ties with the company. Our Kloud acquired some of Forum’s equipment leases from the initial Forum administrator in July. Eric Constantinidis, who operates Our Kloud, is Papas’ cousin.

Former Forum customer Guy Bailey told The Australian that Our Kloud had debited three payments from his business account, prompting him to instruct his bank to put a stop on the withdrawals.