An Indian-origin woman has been jailed for more than two years after fraudulently obtaining more than £216,000 in government-backed Covid-19 loans by exaggerating her companies’ turnover and using much of the money for personal expenses and investments.Rupali Wagh, 50, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in Wales on Friday after he admitted five counts of fraud linked to the UK’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which was introduced to help businesses survive the pandemic, news agency PTI reported.Investigators found that Wagh obtained a total of £216,250 (Rs 2,80,75,521) in loans to four companies between May and September 2020 by providing false sales figures and, in one case, obtaining duplicate loans for the same company.Instead of using the money to support her business, she transferred large sums to her personal bank account, paid off personal debts, invested in stocks and sent more than £25,000 to an account in India, according to the Insolvency Service, reported by the news agency.Her first fraudulent application was for £16,250 on behalf of One2Four Accounting Ltd. Wagh claimed the company’s turnover was £65,000, despite records showing it had only made £39,000 in the previous year.
Within weeks of receiving the money, most of the money had been transferred to her personal account.She later obtained the maximum loan of £50,000 for Talensetu UK Ltd by claiming that the company had an annual turnover of £218,000, although official filings showed that the company was dormant. Days after receiving the money, she transferred the entire amount to her personal account, used it for personal finance and stock market investments and transferred more than £25,000 to India.The following month, Wagh successfully applied for another £50,000 bounce-back loan for the same company through a different bank, falsely stating that he had not received any previous loan under the scheme. Investigators said she again transferred almost all of the money for personal use.She was also awarded £50,000 for White Coconut Ltd, an Indian street food business in Cardiff, after overstating its turnover by £252,000, despite providing a much lower estimate of £72,000 when opening the company’s bank account.
The application also incorrectly stated that the company had not actually obtained a bounce-back loan, despite obtaining a previous loan of £18,000.Her latest fraudulent application involved Indian Canteen Ltd, a company incorporated in January 2020. Wagh secured another £50,000 loan by claiming annual revenues of £206,000, even though she had previously estimated the company would generate just £82,000. She later transferred more than £25,000 of that money to White Coconut Ltd, investigators said.During the investigation, Wagh initially alleged that someone else who had access to her computer had placed one of the orders without her knowledge. She later withdrew this account and admitted that she had acted alone.She also admitted to using government-backed loans to settle personal credit card debt and other loans, saying she believed reducing her personal liabilities would ultimately benefit her business.David Snasdale, a senior investigator at the Insolvency Service, said Wagh exploited a scheme set up to support genuine businesses during the pandemic.She deliberately inflated the company’s turnover, obtained duplicate loans and diverted public funds for personal gain, he said, adding that authorities remain committed to pursuing coronavirus fraud no matter how much time has passed.
