STORY
William Blenkarn, a 48-year-old events company director from Buckinghamshire, has been sentenced for fraudulently obtaining £100,000 in COVID-19 support funds. He secured two £50,000 Bounce Back Loans for his company, MJB Events Limited, despite the scheme permitting only one loan per business. Subsequently, he transferred £41,000 to a newly established company, MJB Entertainment Group Ltd.
At Aylesbury Crown Court on 24 April, Blenkarn, now residing in Spain, received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery of the misappropriated funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, stated:
“William Blenkarn’s company received double the amount of public money it deserved due to his false declaration when applying for a second Bounce Back Loan. This was taxpayers’ money and Blenkarn made matters worse by moving a significant proportion of the loan over to his new company which had only been trading for a few months.”
Blenkarn’s actions not only violated the terms of the Bounce Back Loan scheme but also breached his duties as a director by failing to provide necessary accounting records during the liquidation process. The fraudulent activities left MJB Events’ account overdrawn by approximately £25,000, depriving creditors of funds.