West Midlands accountant swindled Covid loan and support schemes out of more than £268,000

Zeeshan Ashraf claimed a total of £268,102.07 and tried to claim £52,732.66 that he was not entitled to from support schemes launched to help struggling businesses during the pandemic.

The 44-year-old, from Hall Green in Birmingham, used his company, AZ Certified Accounting Limited, to claim 'bounce back loans' from Barclays, Starling, and NatWest banks in 2020. The loan scheme was used to help businesses struggling due to Covid-19.

In each application he said the money would help his business during the pandemic - but spent the £50,000 he secured from each bank on his personal lifestyle. 

In his applications he inflated the turnover of the company to claim the maximum amount and did not disclose to Starling or NatWest that he had already made an application to Barclays. Only one application was permitted.

He fraudulently received £91,174 under the Covid Job Retention Scheme - which saw employees placed on furlough - by making multiple applications to HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of his business clients which were false or unauthorised. His claims for a further £38,082 did not succeed, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Ashraf also swindled the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, administered by HMRC, out of £26,928 by making numerous applications on behalf of hospitality companies which did not exist, or which did not operate in the restaurant trade. He unsuccessfully tried to claim a further £14,651, a CPS spokesperson added.

His offending took place between April 2020 and April 2021. Ashraf pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud when he appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on September 18, 2024.

He was sentenced on Monday (February 3) at Birmingham Crown Court to three years and eight months in prison.

'Crucial lifeline seen as personal piggy bank'

Kate Hurst, from the CPS, said: “At a time of national crisis, organisations relied on people to make honest claims for support, but this allowed unscrupulous individuals to take advantage.

“This crucial lifeline to help businesses was seen by Zeeshan Ashraf as his personal piggy bank.

“A small amount of the money Ashraf received has been repaid but the CPS will seek to recover the remainder and return it to the public purse.

“The CPS and investigative agencies will continue to pursue fraudsters who dishonestly enrich themselves from government support grants and loans.”