Two builders have been given suspended jail sentences after admitting making fraudulent claims for business-support loans during the Covid pandemic.
The father and son admitted fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 related to claims made to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
The BBLS, which was introduced in 2020 as the pandemic took hold, provided loans of up to £50,000 to small firms struggling with the impact of the coronavirus.
James Leslie, a 45-year-old builder based in Bristol, submitted “grossly inflated turnover figures” to claim loans worth £100,000 in total, according to the Insolvency Service.
He successfully applied for two £50,000 loans for Dartmouth Homes Ltd in May 2020, which he said had a £250,000 turnover. In reality, the firm had been dormant for a number of years and had no turnover.
The cash was then transferred to Logan Housing Ltd and Northwick Homes Ltd, both companies for which he was a director.
A month later, he made a further application, claiming another of his companies – Bampton Developments Ltd – had a £300,000 turnover in 2019.
An analysis of the firm’s bank account revealed a turnover of little more than £18,000 for 2019 and that the business was not trading at the time of the application.
In his defence, James Leslie said he was “desperate for money”.
He was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Bristol Crown Court on 23 July, according to the Insolvency Service.
His father, William Leslie, 74, was handed a 16-month sentence suspended for 12 months after admitting one count of fraud.
He put in an application for a £50,000 loan to Logan Housing in May 2020, just three days after an application had been made for the same company, which was not allowed.
The court is now pursuing confiscation proceedings against the pair under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
It is the latest case to result from a national initiative led by HMRC and the National Investigation Service, which is auditing claims made during lockdown.
Last year, Construction News revealed that nearly 5,000 loans were suspected of being fraudulent.
David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to prosecute these cases, and both the father and son now have criminal convictions as a consequence of their actions.”
