CARDIFF BUSINESSWOMAN JAILED FOR £200,000 COVID LOAN FRAUD

Rupali Wagh, a businesswoman from Cardiff, has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for fraudulently claiming approximately £200,000 in Covid support loans. Wagh pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud in November and received her sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday. Between May and September 2020, she secured £216,250 across five Bounce Back Loans and two additional loans intended for her companies, despite regulations permitting only one loan per business. Judge David Wynn Morgan stated the fraud was "wholly dishonest for personal gain".

Wagh inflated the turnover figures of her businesses when applying for the loans. For One2Four Accounting Ltd, a bookkeeping services company, she declared a turnover of £65,000 when the actual figure for the previous calendar year was £39,000. For Talensetu UK Ltd, she claimed a turnover of £218,000 despite the company's dormant accounts showing it was not trading during the relevant period. For a second Bounce Back Loan for the same company in July 2020, she stated a turnover of £225,000 whilst simultaneously declaring an estimated turnover of £72,000 on a bank application form completed the same day.

Following receipt of the funds, Wagh transferred the loan money into her personal account rather than using it for business purposes as required. Prosecutor Jenny Yeo stated that Wagh spent most of the money paying off personal credit card debts, purchasing stocks and shares, and transferring more than £25,000 to an account in India. The fraud occurred during the early stages of the government-backed loan scheme designed to support businesses through the pandemic.