A former private hire company owner admitted fraud after trying to pocket a £10,000 Covid -19 business grant he was not entitled to.
Saeed Ahmed applied for the one-off Small Business Covid-19 grant which the government introduced in the spring to compensate companies forced to close due to lockdown.
The 60-year-old applied for the grant, which were administered across the country by local authorities, by filling in forms through the council’s website and asserting the information was true.
However, as officers assessed the claim among thousands of other genuine applications, it was discovered Mr Ahmed had sold the business four months prior to the national lockdown.
Mr Ahmed appeared before Reading Magistrates’ Court on Friday 11 December and admitted one count of making false representations with intent to make a financial gain, under section 2 of the Fraud Act, on 23 July this year.
The case was taken to court by the council’s corporate fraud team.
The court was told Mr Ahmed had stated on his application for the grant he had been running a business from an address in Church Street, Slough, despite no longer being the occupant of the address.
The business premises had been occupied by a new business owner since November 2019.
The grant was not paid out after the anomaly was identified through counter fraud checks by council staff.
Mr Ahmed, of Salt Hill Way, Slough, was sentenced to a community order which requires him to complete 80 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months.
He was also ordered to pay £991.50 of costs the council had incurred prosecuting the case and a victim surcharge of £95.
Cllr Pavitar K. Mann, cabinet member for planning and regulation, said: “Council staff worked tirelessly this year administering extra grants and benefits brought in by the government to mitigate the effects of coronavirus.
“Thanks to the thorough checks and balances those who met the government guidelines were paid the grant.
“It is sad there are some people out there who thought this would be a way to make quick cash off the back of others who were struggling.”
In the first lockdown which began at the end of March, the council’s business rates team received 2861 grant applications and granted a total of 1434 totalling £18.7 million.
Saeed Ahmed applied for the one-off Small Business Covid-19 grant which the government introduced in the spring to compensate companies forced to close due to lockdown.
The 60-year-old applied for the grant, which were administered across the country by local authorities, by filling in forms through the council’s website and asserting the information was true.
However, as officers assessed the claim among thousands of other genuine applications, it was discovered Mr Ahmed had sold the business four months prior to the national lockdown.
Mr Ahmed appeared before Reading Magistrates’ Court on Friday 11 December and admitted one count of making false representations with intent to make a financial gain, under section 2 of the Fraud Act, on 23 July this year.
The case was taken to court by the council’s corporate fraud team.
The court was told Mr Ahmed had stated on his application for the grant he had been running a business from an address in Church Street, Slough, despite no longer being the occupant of the address.
The business premises had been occupied by a new business owner since November 2019.
The grant was not paid out after the anomaly was identified through counter fraud checks by council staff.
Mr Ahmed, of Salt Hill Way, Slough, was sentenced to a community order which requires him to complete 80 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months.
He was also ordered to pay £991.50 of costs the council had incurred prosecuting the case and a victim surcharge of £95.
Cllr Pavitar K. Mann, cabinet member for planning and regulation, said: “Council staff worked tirelessly this year administering extra grants and benefits brought in by the government to mitigate the effects of coronavirus.
“Thanks to the thorough checks and balances those who met the government guidelines were paid the grant.
“It is sad there are some people out there who thought this would be a way to make quick cash off the back of others who were struggling.”
In the first lockdown which began at the end of March, the council’s business rates team received 2861 grant applications and granted a total of 1434 totalling £18.7 million.