Plasterer lied about income to get £50k Covid loan

John Allen, who has since been declared bankrupt, was also ordered to pay £3,600 in compensation

A plasterer fraudulently exaggerated his turnover by more than £200,000 to take up huge business loans during the coronavirus pandemic and blew the money on "gambling and fantasy football".

Jordan Allen "blatantly" lied to secure a £50,000 payment in 2020 - the maximum companies were entitled to under the scheme, the Insolvency Service said.

The 39-year-old who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, was actually only eligible to claim £5,000.

Allen, of Monarch Street in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Allen applied for the loan on behalf of his PlasteRend business in October 2020, stating his estimated annual turnover for 2018 to 2019 was £225,000, the Insolvency Service said.

However, analysis later revealed his turnover was actually closer to £20,000.

Jordan Allen "blatantly" lied to secure a £50,000 payment in 2020

Allen claimed he was "optimistic" at the time that a business opportunity which failed to materialise would have seen his turnover increase to the level he submitted in his application.

But the Insolvency Service said it was an actual - rather than projected - turnover that should have been declared.

Allen, was also ordered to pay £3,600 in compensation and complete 200 hours of unpaid work, along with 10 days of rehabilitation activity.

David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Jordan Allen made a blatantly false statement by exaggerating the turnover of his business.

"The most Allen was entitled to was around £5,000, not the £50,000 he fraudulently obtained."

He said the plasterer had "made matters worse" by spending the money on personal expenses and not to support his business through the pandemic.

The Insolvency Service said Allen was declared bankrupt in September 2021 and signed a 10-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking in July 2022, restricting him from being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status.