A Rochdale man who fraudulently claimed more than £22,000 in Covid business support grants has received a suspended prison sentence and been ordered to repay the money.
Mohammad Kabil Saddique admitted fraud offences following an investigation by Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Police.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Saddique, 33, of Clayton Street, Rochdale, made six successful claims for Covid business support grants between May 2020 and April 2021.
The claims were submitted on behalf of a business called Medallion Motors Ltd, which he said was operating from Fieldhouse Industrial Estate in Rochdale. In total, he received £22,336 in grant funding.
An investigation by Rochdale Council’s Counter Fraud team and Greater Manchester Police, supported by intelligence from the National Fraud Initiative, found that business lease documents had been falsified.
Investigators established that Saddique had only used a pigeonhole at the industrial estate to receive post and found no evidence that he had operated a business from the location.
At a hearing on 5 June, Saddique pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation.
The court also heard that he admitted theft of a motor vehicle after ordering an Audi RS3 valued at more than £58,000 from a dealership and cancelling payment while the vehicle was being delivered.
Police later recovered the car after he took possession of it and failed to respond to correspondence from the dealership regarding payment or its return.
Saddique was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete 270 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days.
In addition, the court ordered him to repay the full £22,336 obtained through the fraudulent grant claims.
Councillor Carol Wardle, cabinet member for finance and growth at Rochdale Borough Council, said, “While legitimate businesses were relying on covid grants to protect their livelihoods and pay their bills, chancers like Mr Saddique unfortunately chose to use this time of national crisis to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense.
“The fact that he backed up these lies by elaborately forging documents makes it even worse and shows how committed he was to defrauding the public purse. I’m delighted that he’s been brought to book through the efforts of ourselves, alongside GMP.”
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