News: Rotherham director banned for wrongly claiming Bounce Back Loans
A Rotherham-based director overstated turnover for his four construction contractor companies to secure £200,000 Covid-19 financial support to which he was not entitled.
Stephen Burke, 63, from Woodhouse Mill, has been disqualified as a director for 11 years after he took £200,000 of taxpayers’ money through the Bounce Back Loan scheme that his companies were not entitled to.
Burke was director of four companies that provided services to construction projects: Yorkshire Plant Hire and Sales Ltd, Yorkshire Site Preparation Ltd, Woodhouse Civil Engineering Ltd and Richmond Brokers Ltd.
One of the four companies, Yorkshire Site Preparation Ltd, was listed as dormant with Companies House by January 2020. Of the other three, their company accounts ending January 2020 indicated turnover ranging from just £635 to £3,400.
Despite this, Burke, who was sole director of each company by 2020, stated on the application forms that turnover was between £200,000 and £320,000 for each company. This allowed him to secure four Bounce Back Loans for the full £50,000 permitted under the scheme.
He spent £174,000 repaying a personal loan to his former partner, which was also a breach of the loans’ conditions as they could only be spent on legitimate business expenditure.
In February 2021, Burke sought to dissolve all four companies. This was blocked due to the outstanding loans being identified, and instead the companies were placed in liquidation. The Liquidator has begun recovery action.
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The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stephen John Burke, after he admitted obtaining £200,000 in government Bounce Back Loans, the maximum amount available of £50,000 per company, by overstating company turnover, then using the funds obtained to repay a personal loan and not for the economic benefit of the company.
His ban is effective from 4 August 2022 and lasts for 11 years.
The disqualification undertaking prevents him from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Coronavirus support schemes were introduced to help British businesses through the most testing of times, providing them with the financial support to protect jobs and return to prosperity.
"Stephen Burke not only sought to defraud the Bounce Back Loan scheme for personal gain, but then sought to cover his tracks by dissolving the companies he’d used. This abhorrent conduct has rightly resulted in a lengthy ban, removing his ability to trade with the benefit of limited liability until 2033."
Images: Insolvency Service
Stephen Burke, 63, from Woodhouse Mill, has been disqualified as a director for 11 years after he took £200,000 of taxpayers’ money through the Bounce Back Loan scheme that his companies were not entitled to.
Burke was director of four companies that provided services to construction projects: Yorkshire Plant Hire and Sales Ltd, Yorkshire Site Preparation Ltd, Woodhouse Civil Engineering Ltd and Richmond Brokers Ltd.
One of the four companies, Yorkshire Site Preparation Ltd, was listed as dormant with Companies House by January 2020. Of the other three, their company accounts ending January 2020 indicated turnover ranging from just £635 to £3,400.
Despite this, Burke, who was sole director of each company by 2020, stated on the application forms that turnover was between £200,000 and £320,000 for each company. This allowed him to secure four Bounce Back Loans for the full £50,000 permitted under the scheme.
He spent £174,000 repaying a personal loan to his former partner, which was also a breach of the loans’ conditions as they could only be spent on legitimate business expenditure.
In February 2021, Burke sought to dissolve all four companies. This was blocked due to the outstanding loans being identified, and instead the companies were placed in liquidation. The Liquidator has begun recovery action.
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The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stephen John Burke, after he admitted obtaining £200,000 in government Bounce Back Loans, the maximum amount available of £50,000 per company, by overstating company turnover, then using the funds obtained to repay a personal loan and not for the economic benefit of the company.
His ban is effective from 4 August 2022 and lasts for 11 years.
The disqualification undertaking prevents him from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Coronavirus support schemes were introduced to help British businesses through the most testing of times, providing them with the financial support to protect jobs and return to prosperity.
"Stephen Burke not only sought to defraud the Bounce Back Loan scheme for personal gain, but then sought to cover his tracks by dissolving the companies he’d used. This abhorrent conduct has rightly resulted in a lengthy ban, removing his ability to trade with the benefit of limited liability until 2033."
Images: Insolvency Service
3 comments:
Unfortunately Burke will be far from being the only person guilty of such actions in S. Yorks. alone. The verification process seems to have been less effective than what a junior bank clerk could have devised 50 years ago (when bankers actually were bankers).
What about reclaiming the 200k from him? I bet he doesn't care about being disqualified as he will just use a relative to be the Director whilst he runs the "new" Companies. The law on this type of thing is ridiculously lax, and on top of that is the expenditure and time in bringing the case will cost the taxpayer even more money.
Tbh virtually everyone I know fiddled these 'loans'most simply buying new cars and other non essential items,the whole idea of government giving money away including paying people to sit at home doing nothing ,for an illness that for vast majority was only like a flu at worst ,was bonkers and all them billions wasted could be used now for cost of living crisis (,which if truth be known is due to giveaway that as left country on brink of bankruptcy.People loved it sat in there gardens boozing getting paid...well now we know the price!
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