A West Midlands property developer and lettings agent has been sentenced after fraudulently obtaining Government-backed Covid support loans worth more than £30,000.
Harjinder Singh, director of HP Property (International) Ltd, was handed a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after appearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday 12 May.
The 44-year-old property developer, whose business operated within the residential development and lettings sector, was also disqualified from acting as a company director for seven years, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
The case follows an Insolvency Service investigation into fraudulent applications made under the Government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), both widely used by SME property businesses during the pandemic.
BOUNCE BACK LOAN
HP Property (International) Ltd had legitimately secured a £20,000 Bounce Back Loan in May 2020. However, Singh subsequently applied for a second Bounce Back Loan worth £30,000 through a different bank the following month, falsely declaring it was his first application under the scheme.
Under the rules of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, businesses were only permitted to obtain a single loan.
Later in 2020, Singh also applied for a separate £95,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan but failed to declare the fraudulent £30,000 Bounce Back Loan as required under the scheme’s rules.
CBILS rules required any outstanding Bounce Back Loans to be repaid using the new funding facility.
While Singh disclosed the original legitimate £20,000 Bounce Back Loan, which was subsequently repaid, he failed to declare the second £30,000 facility, allowing him to retain funds he was not entitled to receive.
HP Property (International) Ltd, which traded as a residential property developer and lettings agency business, was ultimately placed into compulsory liquidation in November 2021 after the CBILS lender pursued legal action to recover outstanding debts.
During interviews with the Insolvency Service, Singh admitted the second Bounce Back Loan application breached the rules of the scheme.
According to investigators, he claimed he had not properly read the terms and conditions, stating: “We just clicked it.”
EXPLOITED SUPPORT
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Harjinder Singh exploited Covid support schemes that were created in good faith to help businesses survive one of the most difficult periods in recent memory.
“He made deliberate false declarations across two separate applications to keep money he had no right to.
“The Insolvency Service remains committed to ensuring that Covid fraudsters face the consequences of their actions.”
The Insolvency Service confirmed it is now pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The case highlights the continuing scrutiny facing property businesses that accessed emergency Covid-era lending schemes, many of which were heavily relied upon across the development, bridging and specialist property finance sectors during the pandemic.
