The owner of a Blackpool IT firm pocketed a £50,000 bounce back loan during the Covid pandemic after claiming he would use it to support his company.
It provided financial support to businesses across the UK that were losing revenue, and seeing their cashflow disrupted, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak which could benefit from £50,000 or less in finance. The Insolvency Service published the following details about the ban: "Paul Matthews caused Pathfinder IT Systems Limited to apply for and obtain a Bounce Back Loan of £50,000 at a time when he knew or ought to have known that Pathfinder could apply for a maximum BBL of £23,662.
"The BBL scheme allowed businesses affected by the Coronavirus pandemic to apply for a government backed loan of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of turnover in the calendar year 2019. Where a business was established after 01 January 2019, a business could provide an estimate of its annual turnover.
"Mr Matthews has indicated that the BBL funds were to be used to diversify the business and that the estimated turnover figure of £250,000 included the turnover he anticipated receiving from the new business venture. Mr Matthews has failed to provide any evidence in support of this, despite requests made of him.