- Amraiz Mahmood secured more than £20,000 in Covid support funds by falsely declaring he had a turnover of £81,000 as a self-employed delivery driver and courier
- Mahmood spent the money on drugs and gambling and also used a separate non-Covid related loan for almost £40,000 worth of renovations to his home just before he filed for his own bankruptcy
- Insolvency Service investigations have resulted in Mahmood being given a suspended prison sentence and 12-month curfew
A delivery driver who spent Covid support funds he was not entitled to on drugs and gambling has been sentenced.
Amraiz Mahmood fraudulently secured a £20,250 Bounce Back Loan from his bank in 2020 by overstating his 2019 turnover by more than £65,000.
The 31-year-old then claimed to have assets of only £100 despite withdrawing almost £40,000 in cash for home improvements in the weeks before he filed for his own bankruptcy.
Mahmood, of Booker Lane, High Wycombe, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, when he appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on Friday 21 February.
He is also now subject to a 12-month daily curfew between 9pm and 7.45am which will be monitored with an electronic tag.
Mark Stephens, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said
Amraiz Mahmood hugely inflated his turnover to secure taxpayers’ money he did not deserve. He then clearly failed to use the loan as it was intended.
Bounce Back Loans were designed to support small businesses through the pandemic. They were not intended to be used for personal gain and the Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action when we identify such blatant abuse of the scheme.
Mahmood also concealed tens of thousands of pounds in assets from the Official Receiver when he was declared bankrupt.
Mahmood fraudulently applied for his Bounce Back Loan in May 2020, claiming his turnover as a self-employed courier and delivery driver was £81,000.
His self-assessment return for 2018-19 however showed an income of only £15,018.
Mahmood said that he spent the majority of the money he claimed on recreational drugs and gambling.
In May 2021, one year on from fraudulently securing the Bounce Back Loan, Mahmood applied for bankruptcy, stating he had assets of just £100 and liabilities of more than £200,000.
However, just one month before his bankruptcy, Mahmood had secured a non-Covid related loan from his bank worth £25,000 having also withdrawn £2,000 from his account in the days and weeks before.
He then withdrew a further £37,950 in cash across several transactions before being declared bankrupt.
Mahmood said he withdrew the money as he needed to make repairs to his home and he knew the assets would be frozen once the bankruptcy order was made.
Invoices for the house renovations were dated after Mahmood’s bankruptcy however, meaning he was in possession of the funds when he told the Official Receiver he only had £100 in assets.
Mahmood signed an eight-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking in March 2022, restricting him from being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status.
Efforts are now being made to recover the funds from Mahmood.
