Woman falsely claimed Covid loans for cake business

A bankrupt former hairdresser has been made subject to strict sanctions for 12 years after falsely claiming almost £100,000 in Covid loans.

Hannah Walker, 31, applied for a £50,000 "bounce back" loan for her baking business in June 2020 and said it had a turnover of more than quarter of a million pounds, despite only trading for two weeks.

The next day, she applied to a different bank for a loan of £48,000 for the business called "Something Sweet", and claimed its turnover was £230,000.

Samantha Crook, deputy Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said Walker "blatantly abused" the scheme during "one of the toughest times the country faced".

She added: "She breached the rules of the scheme by taking out not one, but two loans, for a business that was not even eligible for a loan."

The "bounce back" scheme allowed businesses set up before March 2020 one loan worth up to 25% of their turnover or estimated turnover, up to a maximum of £50,000.

The baking company was not eligible for any money due to how recently it was set up, and she did not apply for any loan for her legitimate hairdressing business.

Walker, of Pollard Crescent, Sheffield, was made bankrupt in March 2024 with outstanding debts worth around £109,000, including the full amount of both loans.

She did not dispute that she provided false information to receive two loans she was not entitled to.

The sanctions imposed by the Insolvency Service mean she cannot act as a company director without permission from the court or borrow more than £500 without disclosing the restrictions, until January 2037.

Ms Crook added: "These restrictions will curtail her business activities for a long time to help protect the public from further financial harm."

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