A joinery boss who falsely claimed a £30,000 Covid loan has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Charles Ling, of North Road, Havering-atte-Bower, Romford, Essex, was sentenced to 15 months in custody, suspended for 18 months, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, for fraud related to the Covid support scheme, according to a statement from the Insolvency Service.
He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, it said.
The court heard that the 57-year-old, who ran Bradcon (Bespoke) Joinery Ltd, had applied for two Bounce Back Loans under the government’s scheme, which was introduced to help companies recover from the impact of the pandemic.
An investigation by the Insolvency Service found no wrongdoing with the initial loan, worth £20,000.
However, the probe revealed that Ling had falsely claimed that the second award, worth £30,000, was his first loan, the Insolvency Service said.
It also uncovered that the joinery boss withdrew £9,000 of the latter loan in cash and transferred another £2,500 for a mortgage payment. The Insolvency Service concluded that none of this £11,500 was used for business purposes.
Ling paid back the £30,000 loan after the prosecution action commenced.
However, on 2 April this year, he was charged with one count of fraud by false representation, according to the government agency’s statement.
David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Charles Ling stated that this was his first Covid Bounce Back Loan, and that it would be spent wholly on his joinery business, but this was not the case.
“These loans were designed to help support businesses through the pandemic, not for personal use at the expense of the public purse.”
He added: “We are committed to investigating these cases and bringing those responsible to justice.”
Companies House records show a voluntary liquidator was appointed to Bradcon (Bespoke) Joinery Ltd in December 2022.
Data obtained by Construction News under the Freedom of Information Act showed that 8,356 Bounce Back Loans to the construction industry had been flagged as suspected frauds by lenders at the end of January this year.