A well known prison was given a £50,000 government-backed coronavirus bounce again mortgage – and blew all of it on medicine.
Serial criminal Louis Maxwell, 35, has 16 earlier convictions for 49 offences – together with 12 for dishonest behaviour, 9 for driving whereas disqualified and 6 for housebreaking.
He claimed by means of Rishi Sunak’s Bounce Again Mortgage scheme to assist his tow-truck enterprise, based mostly in Newport, Gwent, survive after lockdown, spending lower than half the cash – £22,000 – on a brand new truck.
Maxwell blew away the remaining on Class A medicine. He later bought the truck, utilizing money from the sale to purchase extra medicine.
Serial criminal Louis Maxwell, 35, has 16 earlier convictions for 49 offences – together with 12 for dishonest behaviour, 9 for driving whereas disqualified and 6 for housebreaking
He was jailed final Might for driving a stolen automobile and filed for chapter three months later – triggering an Insolvency Service investigation.
Maxwell owned the Mr Tow Restoration Logistics enterprise utilizing a Jeep Cherokee and trailer – regardless of being banned from driving himself.
Sue Tovery of the Insolvency Service stated: ‘Taxpayers’ cash was made accessible to assist real companies get by means of the lockdown interval and the place there have been abuses, we is not going to hesitate to take motion.’
Maxwell, of Newport, is now banned from borrowing greater than £500 with out disclosing his bankrupt standing, and he can’t act as an organization director with out the court docket’s permission.
Maxwell had beforehand been mocked for wanting like Beaker from the muppets after police posted his mugshot whereas he was needed over a driving offence.
Beneath Mr Sunak’s scheme, companies might borrow as much as £50,000 interest-free for 12 months, with the mortgage assured by the Authorities
Police printed Maxwell’s mugshot onto their Fb web page after he led them on a excessive pace chase in 2017.
However the web site was shortly taken over by wannabe comedians having amusing at his unkempt curly haircut and bleary-eyed look.
Police ultimately traced Maxwell and arrested him, however not earlier than he was ruthlessly in comparison with Bert from Sesame Avenue and Beaker from the Muppets on-line.
Final December livid MPs had claimed fraudsters have been in a position to steal practically £5billion from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Covid Bounce Again Mortgage scheme as a result of the Authorities’s anti-fraud measures have been ‘too little too late’.
A damning report by the spending watchdog has discovered that controls to make sure corporations weren’t making use of for multiple bounce again mortgage have been ‘insufficient’ and put in place ‘too slowly’.
The Nationwide Audit Workplace stated that by the point the Authorities applied any anti-fraud measures in June 2020 – a month after the scheme was launched – greater than £28billion had already been paid out.
Different measures didn’t start till September 2020 as Ministers focussed on getting the loans out to assist companies that have been struggling throughout the pandemic, the watchdog stated.
In its report, the NAO additionally stated that round £17billion might by no means be repaid as a result of fraudulent exercise in addition to respectable debtors defaulting, citing official estimates.
The watchdog added that the Authorities knew the dangers because it launched the scheme, however needed to weigh them in opposition to the implications of not getting cash to companies shortly.
Beneath Mr Sunak’s scheme, companies might borrow as much as £50,000 interest-free for 12 months, with the mortgage assured by the Authorities.
It was a lifeline for small companies, however has additionally supplied wealthy pickings for fraudsters who disappear, leaving the taxpayer to reimburse banks.
