Self-employed electrician abused Government's Covid support scheme.
Shaun David Dixon claimed two separate Bounce Back Loans in two consecutive months
He overstated his turnover to claim an extra £16,250 he was not entitled to
Dixon is now subject to seven years of bankruptcy restrictions which prevent him running a company and borrowing money without declaring the sanctions
An electrician from Middlesbrough is subject to seven years of stringent bankruptcy restrictions after claiming two Covid Bounce Back Loans and overstating his turnover to gain £16,250 more than he was entitled to.
Shaun David Dixon, 43, a self-employed electrician from Leamington Grove in Middlesbrough, claimed Bounce Back Loans totalling £23,750 for his business in the summer of 2020.
Dixon was made bankrupt in November 2023 and the Official Receiver, whose role includes investigating the cause of a bankruptcy, found that Dixon had claimed two separate loans - a breach of the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
The investigation also found that Dixon had exaggerated his turnover on his second application to claim extra money he was not entitled to receive under the scheme's rules.
Carol Megram, Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said:
Bounce Back Loans were designed to support UK businesses during one of the country's toughest times.
Shaun Dixon abused the scheme by taking out two loans and by overstating his business turnover to abuse taxpayers' money.
These lengthy bankruptcy restrictions will limit his financial and business activities and help to protect the public from further abuse.
The Official Receiver discovered that Dixon had originally claimed a Bounce Back Loan worth £7,500 in June 2020, and claimed the second loan, worth £16,250, a month later.
Under the rules of the Bounce Back Loan scheme, businesses could claim up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, with a maximum loan of £50,000.
Businesses which originally borrowed less than the maximum amount available to them could apply for a top-up loan. But the first loan plus the top-up must not have been more than 25% of their turnover, as stated in the original loan application.
In his second loan application, Dixon overstated his turnover by £43,000, which resulted in him receiving the second loan of £16,250 which he was not entitled to.
The Official Receiver secured a seven-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking from Dixon, in which he did not dispute that he provided inaccurate information in the application for the second loan.
Bankruptcy restrictions now prevent Dixon from acting as a company director without the court's permission and from borrowing more than £500 without declaring that he is subject to the restrictions. They also prevent him from holding certain roles in public organisations.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted the Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking from Shaun David Dixon on 17 October 2024.
His undertaking - in which he agrees to the sanctions - extends his original bankruptcy restrictions from the standard 12 months until 16 October 2031.
