Five people have been separately placed under bankruptcy restrictions totaling 48 years as the Insolvency Service continues to identify and tackle abuses of the Bounce Back Loan program.

In each of the five separate cases, the rebound loans were either erroneously obtained by overestimating their company’s turnover, or on behalf of a company that had already gone out of business before the pandemic, or were simply misused for personal use rather than legitimate business expenses. .

• Charlene Wilson was a freelance beautician based in Jarrow. She received a £50,000 bounce-back loan by overestimating her turnover and spent around £15,000 on personal expenses. She accepted bankruptcy restrictions for 8 years.
• Georgiana Cercel ran a beauty business from her home in Lincoln while studying full-time. She received a £50,000 bounce-back loan by overestimating her business turnover and gave her sister £10,000. It is subject to bankruptcy restrictions for 10 years.
• Florin Bodale worked as a building contractor through his company Varga Construction. He got a £50,000 bounce-back loan by overstating his turnover, although he told investigators he believed he had been asked for the total turnover for the previous 3 years. However, this amount would still have been less than half of the turnover he declared. He agreed to a 10-year bankruptcy restraint recognizance.
• Sarah Sweeting ran a home delivery service from October 2020. She was granted a £22,000 bounce-back loan although she was not eligible as the businesses had to have traded before March 2020. Of the £22,000, she transferred around £14,000 to her husband. . It is subject to a 10-year bankruptcy restriction covenant.
• Abbas Moradmand ran a tire company from 2018 to 2019, after which he worked as a taxi driver. After a short closure, the business has reopened and continues to operate under new ownership. However, Moradmand was granted a £26,894 Bounce Back Loan which he was not entitled to as it was based on a claim on behalf of his former tire company. He agreed to a 10-year bankruptcy restraint recognizance.

Their bankruptcy restrictions mean that none of the above are able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing their bankruptcy status. They also cannot act as a company director without permission from the court.

In each of the above cases, the local official receiver is working on potential collection action.

Kevin Read, Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said:

In all of these cases, it was obvious, or should have been obvious, that they were misusing the Bounce Back loan for personal gain, that they had taken out a larger loan than they were eligible for, or that they were not eligible for a Bounce Back loan at all. .

It is taxpayers’ money that they misused and we will not hesitate to impose restrictions on bankruptcy in these circumstances.

Notes to Editors

Charlene Kylie Wilson is from South Shields and her date of birth is July 1988. Details of her engagement are available on the Individual Insolvency Register.

Georgiana Mariana Cercel is from Lincoln and her date of birth is July 1995. Details of her engagement are available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Florin Petrisor Bodale is from Harrow and his date of birth is June 1990. Details of his engagement are available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Sarah Louise Sweeting is from Bromley and her date of birth is November 1974. Details of her engagement are available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Abbas Moradmand is from Bournemouth and his date of birth is January 1971. Details of his engagement are available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Bankruptcy restrictions vary widely. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restraining order or a recognizance. Advice on the main legal consequences arising from a bankruptcy restraining order or undertaking.

Information about the work of the insolvency service and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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