Credit, collections & insolvency news
A Sussex director who committed Covid Bounce Back Loan fraud and encouraged an associate to invest in the creation of a footgolf course he never had permission to create, has been sentenced. Lee Walkey was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Lewes Crown Court. Walkey was also ordered to complete…
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A construction contractor has been banned as company director after Covid loan abuse. An Insolvency Service investigation found that Nick Addison submitted misleading information to obtain a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan, the maximum amount businesses were entitled to. Addison was the owner of a former Bedfordshire construction firm which mainly focused on dry lining and…
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A Bristol builder who overstated the income from his construction companies to secure two Covid Bounce Back Loans totalling £100,000 has been handed a suspended sentence. James Leslie was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court. His father William Leslie and of the same address,…
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Credit Connect Media hosted the return of its Commercial Credit & Collections Conference last week at the Met Hotel in Leeds which saw trade credit, insolvency, and economic change and discussed by fourteen leading credit, collections and insolvency professionals. In the sixth edition of the Commercial Credit & Collections Conference series, hosted by Credit Connect…
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New research from GBG has revealed 81% of European businesses believe cross-sector collaboration and intelligence sharing is key to stemming the rising tide of fraudulent criminal activity. The findings are part of GBG’s new Global Fraud Report 2024 which surveyed businesses in the UK, France, Germany, and Spain in financial services, fintech, crypto, banking, retail…
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The UK is fast becoming a global hotspot for online fraud, which is having a devastating impact on both businesses and the economy according to research from fraud prevention platform Ravelin. The analysis shows online fraud is increasing globally but has grown more in the UK in the last 12 months than any of the…
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The Government has launched a new HMRC fraud and error taskforce in a bid to recover overpayments made to UK taxpayers during the pandemic. The £100 million Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,200 HMRC staff will combat fraud and aims to recover up to £1.5 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments for the 2022/23 financial year.…
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A restaurant manager has been givena suspended sentence after using Covid Bounce Back loan to buy jewellery. The Manchester-based restaurant manager fraudulently obtained two Covid loans worth £100,000. Sehrish Yasmin was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Manchester Crown Court. The 32-year-old was also ordered to pay costs and compensation…
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Two in five (40%) SME decision-makers do not have protective measures against fraud and scamming in place, leaving them at risk of an incident or attack according to research by insights agency Opinium. The research, conducted among 500 senior decision makers at SMEs, found that this rises to 45% among SMEs in hospitality, food &…
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A man who cheated taxpayers out of £50,000 by using the funds from a Covid loan to replace his car has been sentenced for fraud. Insolvency Service Investigations found that James Todd applied for and secured a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for a fictitious business he named Pro Detailing, inventing a turnover of £255,000 to…
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A fraudster who illegally secured a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan designed to support businesses during the Covid pandemic has been handed a suspended sentence. Rian O’Keeffe, 28, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court. O’Keeffe, of Lisgar Terrace, Hammersmith, is also subject to a…
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An Accountant who took out three Bounce Back Loans has been given a 12-year director ban by the Insolvency Service and must repay £75,000. Dion Mailich took out three Bounce Back Loans for his business – despite being only entitled to one. The Accountant applied for loans totalling £125,000 – five times the amount his…
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A man from Milton Keynes who committed approximately £867,299 of fraud has been sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court to 7 years 10 months in prison, following an investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit funded by the banking industry. Zaheer Abbas, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of fraud…
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