STORY
A Bradford man who used his wife’s identity to secure £100,000 of Bounce Back Loan funds he wasn’t entitled to has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after admitting a string of Covid-era fraud offences. Shohid Ahmed, 40, applied for three maximum-value loans on behalf of Red Square Restaurants Limited, trading as Ruby’s Lounge, using his wife’s name because she had a stronger credit history. Although one application was refused, he received £100,000 in May and June 2020 despite the business having already applied to strike off its Companies House registration and not trading.
To conceal his actions, Ahmed created a false director by filing companies house paperwork naming an unwitting tenant of his father’s as the restaurant’s new manager. He then fabricated invoices, including one for a £15,000 interior redesign, to suggest the borrowed cash had been spent legitimately, when in fact it was not used for the company’s benefit. Ahmed pleaded guilty earlier this year to offences under the Fraud Act 2006, Companies Act 2006 and Insolvency Act 1986. At Bradford Crown Court on 27 May, Judge Jonathan Rose QC described his conduct as “highly deceptive” noting he had implicated an innocent member of the public in the deception.
Ahmed has so far repaid just £5,000 of the stolen funds. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Insolvency Service is now pursuing the recovery of the remaining £95,000. In addition to his custodial term, Ahmed was disqualified from acting as a company director for 11 years following earlier misconduct at Red Square Restaurants.