A man who fraudulently applied for five false bounce-back loans during the COVID-19 pandemic has been jailed.
Mohammed Uddin, 37, of Dunmow, Essex, previously pleaded guilty to five counts of false representation to make gain and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court to 28 months in prison.
He was disqualified from acting as a company director for five years.
Uddin was prosecuted following an investigation by the National Investigation Service (NATIS). He was the company director of four businesses and, in total, submitted five applications for loans between May 2020 and November 2022.
Despite clear rules to the contrary, Uddin made two applications for one business. These loans were designed to help businesses during the pandemic.
Once all the loans were received, totalling £250,000, Uddin spent the money on paying off debts, home improvements, funding separate investments and buying luxury watches and cars.
HMRC records revealed that Uddin’s companies had little to no trading activity between 2020 and 2022. Despite this, Uddin inflated his companies’ turnover figures to obtain the maximum possible loan amount, £50,000 per company.
On 11 February 2022, Uddin was arrested.
His home address was searched and various digital items were seized, including Uddin’s mobile phone. Analysis of the mobile phone enabled the Crown Prosecution Service to find a direct link between Uddin and the fraudulent loan applications.
Investigators also found bank cards in Uddin’s name that linked him to the businesses and invoices that demonstrated how Uddin spent the money he received from the bounce-back loans.
Once the fraud was detected, Uddin’s accounts were frozen, and a total of £66,574.20 has since been recovered.
Ben Reid, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said, “During the COVID pandemic, Mohammed Uddin fraudulently applied for government loans and used these for his own personal gain.
“These loans were provided in good faith to help struggling businesses at a very difficult time, and Uddin deliberately targeted and abused this system. The Proceeds of Crime team within the CPS will now start confiscation proceedings to ensure Uddin does not financially benefit from these crimes.”
