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Pants On Fire - Phoenixer Slammed By Authority And Customers
A glass, aluminium and doors company, operated by what has been described as a serial phoenixer, has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority....
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Bounce Back Loan Cheats Get Bounced
Following two separate cases brought by the Insolvency Service, two directors were given suspended prison sentences of 20 months and six months respectively in January.
Although not operating in the windows & doors business, it comes as a warning to any firm that has taken money illegally or used it irresponsibly that the authorities are on the lookout to convict as many people/firms as possible to amortise the government’s embarrassment at how easy it was to defraud the public purse.
Sameer Saeed, 42, from London and Antonia Parkes, 35, from Conwy, have each been convicted for offences under the Companies Act, after being found to have abused the Bounce Back Loan financial support scheme in 2020.
Sameer Saeed
Sameer Saeed was convicted on four counts under the Companies Act and Fraud Act following an Insolvency Service investigation. Saeed was sole director of Digital Business Box Ltd and The Home Wills Ltd. In relation to the former, he secured a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan (BBL) based on inflated turnover and applied to dissolve the company two weeks later. In relation to the latter, he attempted to secure a £50,000 BBL although the company had only been established on 31 March 2020 and was therefore not eligible for any funding through the scheme. He did not receive the funds, however his attempt to secure a second loan was deemed an aggravating aspect in court.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months; and 300 hours of unpaid work. He has undertaken to repay the £50,000.
Antonia Parkes
Antonia Parkes was convicted of an offence under the Companies Act. She was director of Conwy Valley Lodge Ltd, which ran a hotel close to Snowdonia in Wales. The company situation deteriorated after the start of the pandemic and she sought financial assistance from the government. Through the BBL scheme, genuine businesses adversely affected by the pandemic could take out interest-free loans of up to £50,000.
The Insolvency Service investigation found that Parkes had secured a £20,000 BBL immediately before she applied to dissolve the company.
The striking-off application to dissolve the company was explicit that interested parties and creditors, such as a bank with an outstanding loan, must be notified within seven days of making an application to dissolve a company. The form also highlighted that failure to notify interested parties is a criminal offence, however Parkes did not heed this warning.
She was sentenced at Llandudno Magistrates Court to 26 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months, with an unpaid work requirement of 120 hours.
Insolvency Service
Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, says: In each of these two cases, the company directors thought they could abuse the rules to exploit a scheme, backed by taxpayers, designed to help businesses get through the pandemic.
”We will not hesitate to prosecute these cases.”
Picture: Two people, in a recent succession of cases, have been convicted for fraudulently claiming Bounce Back Loans.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
09th February 2023