Eat Out to Help Out fraudster jailed for £430k con

Mohammed Ikram was "motivated by greed", the court was told

A former councillor who tried to steal £434,000 through the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme has been jailed.

Mohammed Ikram, of Keighley, made 19 fraudulent claims under then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak's initiative over four weeks in August and September 2020.

The project let food outlets offer 50% discounts to aid the hospitality sector as Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it was the first fraud conviction associated with the scheme.

Ikram admitted cheating the public revenue, fraud by false representation and associated money laundering at a hearing last June, and was jailed on Friday for two years and six months.

The 36-year-old made 19 fake claims totalling £434,073 through the scheme for eight different food outlets most of which were "entirely fictitious", prosecutor Timothy Jacobs told Bradford Crown Court.

Ikram was also a member of Keighley Town Council until his resignation in 2022, HMRC said.

The judge said Ikram had abused a scheme "designed to help businesses during a terribly difficult time"

Mr Jacobs told the court that eight of the 19 claims were paid by the government, with just over £189,000 being paid into bank accounts held by Ikram's wife. The other 11 claims were rejected.

More than half the money paid out has been recovered by HMRC, but just under £93,000 is outstanding, the court heard.

Mr Jacobs said Ikram registered with the scheme and used his own name and telephone number for each of his claims, with the computer IP address used later traced to his home in Springfield Court, Keighley.

The defendant and his wife were arrested on June 16 2021 after an investigation by HMRC's Taxpayer Protection Taskforce. The case against his wife was later dropped.

Nick Worsley, mitigating, said Ikram had racked up debts of more than £75,000 in relation to "running a care home in Manchester" and "stupidly" saw the Eat Out to Help Out scheme "as a way of solving his immediate financial difficulties".

He told the court Ikram was "a man of good character who has contributed much to the community in a very positive way" and the offending was "an aberration".

'Blatant fraud'

Deputy Circuit Judge Timothy Clayson told him: "Even if I accept your assertion that some of this money was obtained with a view to covering financial obligations, given the sums involved it's apparent the vast majority of this was motivated by greed."

Simon York, director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: "This was a blatant fraud by somebody who held a position of trust and responsibility."

"These schemes were designed to support individuals and businesses during a terribly difficult period.

"Instead, Mohammed Ikram stole money which should have been paying for vital public services and helping those who needed it most."

He sad this was the first conviction of Covid scheme fraud by HMRC, but 70 people had been arrested and a number of cases were working their way through the criminal justice system.