Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A taxi driver who ‘cynically exploited’ a Covid loan scheme to buy a flat in Turkey and a pizza oven has been ordered to repay more than £60,000. Murat Dogantekin had a confiscation order of £63,790 made against him at Exeter Crown Court. The order reflects the value of assets identified by Insolvency Service financial…
Read more
A London hotelier who blamed the banks for not chasing him over repayments has been sentenced after securing £450,000 in Covid loans at the height of the pandemic. Richard Courtenay’s nine Bounce Back Loan applications in May and June 2020 involved fraudulent declarations about the turnover of five companies and applying for multiple loans when…
Read more
A scam whisky investment firm shut down after customers left thousands of pounds out of pocket, with the company wound up following Insolvency Service investigations. Cask Spirits Global Limited used high-pressure sales tactics to sell whisky cask investments, promising customers substantial returns and tax advantages. However, of the 17 customers the Insolvency Service identified who…
Read more
A second-hand car dealer has been ordered to repay the Covid funds he fraudulently secured in full. Javed Akhtar was handed a confiscation order of £66,917 when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court. Akhtar must repay all the money within three months. If he fails to do so, he could face six months in prison…
Read more
A disqualified company director has been jailed for running a football magazine business while banned. Yorkshire businessman Peter Etherington was the man behind Professional Player, described on social media as ‘a luxury lifestyle magazine’ read exclusively by professional footballers and their families. Etherington admitted acting as a director of the company which produced the magazine,…
Read more
A director has been sentenced after fraudulently inflating his company’s turnover to secure Covid support, which he used to pay off his personal debts. Faruk Chowdhury falsely claimed his company had a turnover of £150,000 and that the Bounce Back Loan would be used for legitimate business purposes. Chowdhury’s company, Learn & Earn Ltd, showed…
Read more
A fourth company director has been disqualified for their role in a scheme involving unauthorised banking transactions worth almost £14 million. Daryl Dylan allowed unarranged overdrafts with Barclays Bank to be used to make transfers of more than £1.6 million from the accounts of Oldcocdt Ltd and Oldcostl Ltd in 2021. Most of the transfers…
Read more
A bogus care recruitment company that swindled overseas workers out of more than £19,000 by charging for visa sponsorship services it could not legally provide has been shut down. Medrecruiter Limited claimed to have nearly 6,000 carers on its books and be active in more than 500 care homes across the UK. In reality, Insolvency…
Read more
A luxury car hire company which took thousands of pounds from customers and repeatedly failed to deliver vehicles or refund their money has been shut down. Classic Parade Ltd claimed to operate from an office in Knightsbridge, offering the hire of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars through its website. However, Insolvency Service investigations found a…
Read more
A fraudster who illegally obtained five Covid loans at the height of the pandemic has been jailed. Cardiff-based Rupali Wagh fraudulently applied for £216,250 in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020. The 50-year-old inflated the turnover of her businesses to secure the loans and used some of the funds…
Read more
A Wolverhampton director has been sentenced for fraud and money laundering after pocketing £30,000 in Covid loans he was not entitled to. Sohail Cheema falsely declared his company’s turnover was £60,000 when applying to two separate banks for £15,000 Bounce Back Loans in 2020. His business, Sohail Cheema Limited, set up for him to gain…
Read more
A banned company director who spent £300,000 of Covid support on family holidays, private school fees, and other personal spending has been jailed. Steven Brookes used funds from six fraudulently obtained Bounce Back Loans to pay for a trip to Disneyland, a holiday rental in Tenerife, and an Audi with personalised number plates for his wife. The 40-year-old also paid £7,000…
Read more
Two men who carried out a £3 million insolvency fraud and money laundering scheme have been sentenced. Disqualified director Tariq Sarwar knew his company was in financial difficulty and likely to be wound up when he sold commercial property in Salford – his company’s only substantial asset – for more than £5 million. Sarwar fraudulently…
Read more