Florin-Petrica Bodale has been sentenced to 13-months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, following a hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court.聽
Bodale operated as a building contractor offering plumbing, heating and air-conditioning installation and was based in Harrow, north London.聽
In November 2020, the 34-year-old successfully applied to a bank for a Covid Bounce Back loan of 拢50,000.聽 聽An Insolvency Service investigation found that he had falsely claimed the company鈥檚 turnover was 拢240,000 to receive the maximum loan available.聽 聽But in reality, the turnover of the company was around 拢22,000 鈥� meaning he was only entitled to 拢5,500.
Bodale was sentenced to 13-months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for one count of fraud by false representation.聽聽 He was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.聽
Insolvency Service chief investigator David Snasdell said: 鈥淔lorin-Petrica Bodale falsely claimed a much higher turnover for his business and the reality of this is a notable sentence on top of his earlier disqualification as a director.聽
鈥淭hese loans were intended to help keep small businesses afloat, not to take money from the public purse that businesses were not entitled to. We will continue in our efforts to bring those who abuse this scheme to justice.鈥�
In 2022, before the criminal investigation, Bodale signed a 10-year bankruptcy restriction undertaking which also included a 10-year director disqualification following a civil investigation by the Insolvency Service. 聽The court noted that he had repaid some money as part of the bankruptcy process.
The Bounce Back loan scheme, introduced in 2020, was designed to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between 拢2,000 and 拢50,000, at a low interest rate, guaranteed by the government. The loans were made on the condition that they were not to be used for personal purposes, but could be used, for example, to purchase a company asset such as a vehicle, if it would provide an economic benefit to the business
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