London, Jul 18 (PTI) An Indian-origin woman, who pleaded guilty to fraud over illegally obtaining five loans being offered by the state to support businesses at the height of the Covid pandemic, has been sentenced to over two years jail by a UK court.

Rupali Wagh, 50, applied for a total of 216,250 pounds in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020 by inflating the turnover of her businesses.

She used some of the funds to buy stocks and shares and paying off personal finance, in clear violation of the terms. She was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment in Wales on Friday.

“Rupali Wagh systematically targeted a scheme designed to help genuine businesses survive the pandemic," said David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service UK.

“She lied about her turnover, obtained duplicate loans for the same businesses, and used the funds to pay off personal debts and buy stocks and shares. When confronted with the evidence, Wagh initially tried to blame someone else before admitting she had acted alone,” he said.

“These are serious crimes and the Insolvency Service remains committed to bringing COVID fraudsters like Wagh to justice no matter how long it takes," he added.

The businesswoman, based in Wales, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud when she appeared at Cardiff Crown Court in November last year and was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday.

According to the Insolvency Service, a government agency tackling financial wrongdoing, Wagh’s first fraudulent application came in May 2020 when she applied for a 16,250 pounds Bounce Back Loan for One2Four Accounting Ltd, a bookkeeping services company she had set up in June 2018.

She declared the company had a turnover of 65,000 pounds and said the funds would be used wholly for business purposes.

“In reality, the company’s turnover for the previous calendar year was just 39,000 pounds. Within weeks of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the money into her personal bank account and spent most of it paying off debts and purchasing stocks and shares," the agency stated.

In June 2020, Wagh applied for a 50,000 pounds loan, the maximum allowed under the scheme, for Talensetu UK Ltd by claiming the business had a turnover of 218,000 pounds.

However, dormant accounts filed by the company for the previous year showed it was not trading.

“Within days of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the entire 50,000 pounds into her personal account and spent it on personal finance and stocks and shares. She also transferred more than 25,000 pounds to an account in India," the Insolvency Service claimed.

She is then said to have applied for a second 50,000 pounds Bounce Back Loan for Talensetu UK Ltd in July 2020, this time from a different bank and claiming a turnover of 225,000 pounds and also falsely declaring that it was the company’s only such loan application.

“After receiving the funds in August, Wagh again transferred almost the entire amount into her personal account and spent it on stocks and shares and paying off personal finance. Wagh followed this up with a fourth fraudulent application in August 2020, seeking 50,000 pounds for White Coconut Ltd, which traded as an Indian street food outlet in Cardiff," the Insolvency Service said.

“She claimed a turnover of 252,000 pounds, again contradicting the 72,000 pounds estimate she provided on her bank account application. Wagh falsely declared this was the company’s only Bounce Back Loan application, despite having already secured 18,000 pounds from the bank for the same business three months earlier,” it stated.

The businesswoman’s final fraudulent application, from September 2020, was for a 50,000 pounds loan for Indian Canteen Ltd, a street food business newly incorporated in January of that year.

“Wagh claimed a turnover of 206,000 pounds, despite estimating on her bank account application that the company’s turnover for the next year would be just 82,000 pounds. She later transferred more than 25,000 pounds of the loan funds to White Coconut Ltd,” the agency added.

During interviews conducted by the Insolvency Service, Wagh initially attempted to blame a third party for one of the loan applications, claiming someone sharing her computer had made the application without her knowledge. However, she later retracted this and acknowledged “she had acted alone”.

Wagh admitted using the funds to pay off personal credit card debts and loans, saying she thought that by clearing her personal debts she would be helping her businesses, the agency revealed.

The Insolvency Service said it is now seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained funds under the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. PTI AK GSP GSP

Covid business loan fraud involved inflated turnover, duplicate applications, personal diversion, and criminal sentencing with recovery action. Covid business loan fraud involved false Bounce Back Loan applications based on inflated turnover, duplicate claims, and false declarations that funds would be used solely for business purposes. The loan proceeds were diverted to personal accounts for personal debts, personal finance, stocks and shares, and transfers between company accounts. The borrower pleaded guilty to fraud offences, received a custodial sentence, and faces recovery proceedings for the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.