Firm that never traded is wound up over false Covid claims
A company submitted false documents to 14 local authorities and the Government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme to secure £145,000 worth of grants and a loan put in place to support businesses during the pandemic.
SIO Traders of Whitchurch was wound up in the High Court following confidential enquiries conducted by the Insolvency Service, which proved the company never traded.
Investigators uncovered that SIO Traders registered their offices in the town but provided false lease documents and utility bills to 14 different local authorities to fraudulently claim they traded out of premises in their respective areas.
SIO Traders claimed they supplied PPE and secured £95,000 worth of business grants from 10 local authorities. The company also received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan it was not entitled to.
Small Business Minister Paul Scully said: "This decisive enforcement action shows that we will not tolerate shameless attempts to defraud the taxpayer and falsely claim public money intended to help businesses through the pandemic.
"We are cracking down on Covid fraud across the board and those who have tried to take support they were not entitled to, which was given in response to the worst crisis of our lifetimes, can expect to face heavy consequences."
Herefordshire County Council was targeted on two occasions by SIO Traders. The local authority initially paid £10,000 after SIO Traders’ first fraudulent application but was able to recover the funds in full, before rejecting a second £10,000 application and reporting the company’s activities.
