A former town councillor who tried to steal more than £430,000 through the Government’s Eat Out to Help out scheme has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Mohammed Ikram made 19 fraudulent claims under then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s initiative over four weeks in August and September 2020.
The case is the first conviction for Covid scheme fraud by HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC). The Treasury-backed scheme allowed food businesses to offer customers a 50% discount in a bid to encourage them to return to the struggling hospitality sector once Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.
Ikram, 36, made 19 fake claims totalling £434,073 through the scheme for eight different food outlets, Bradford Crown Court heard. Six of the businesses were either “entirely fictitious” or legitimate companies he had no connection with, prosecutor Timothy Jacobs said.
