Five individuals have separately been made subject to bankruptcy restrictions totalling 48 years as the Insolvency Service continues to identify and tackle abuse of the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

In each of the five separate cases, the Bounce Back Loans were either wrongfully obtained through overstating their businesses turnover, or on behalf of a company that had already ceased trading prior to the pandemic, or were simply misused for personal use rather than legitimate business spending.

• Charlene Wilson was a self-employed beauty therapist based in Jarrow. She received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan by overstating her turnover and spent around £15,000 on personal expenses. She has accepted bankruptcy restrictions for 8 years.
• Georgiana Cercel ran a beauty business from her home in Lincoln while studying full-time. She received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan by overstating her business turnover, and gave £10,000 to her sister. She is subject to bankruptcy restrictions for 10 years.
• Florin Bodale worked as a building contractor through his company Varga Construction. He obtained a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan by overstating his turnover, although he told investigators he believed he had been asked for total turnover for the previous 3 years. However this amount would still have been less than half the turnover he stated. He has accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.
• Sarah Sweeting ran a farm shop home delivery service from October 2020. She obtained a £22,000 Bounce Back Loan despite not being eligible as businesses had to have been trading prior to March 2020. Of the £22,000, she transferred around £14,000 to her husband. She is subject to a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.
• Abbas Moradmand ran a tyre business from 2018 to 2019 after which point he worked as a taxi driver. After a short closure the business re-opened and continues to trade under new ownership. However, Moradmand secured a Bounce Back Loan of £26,894 to which he was not entitled as it was based on an application on behalf of his former tyre business. He has accepted a 10-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking.

Their bankruptcy restrictions mean none of the above individuals are able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing their bankrupt status. They also cannot act as a company director without permission from the court.

In each of the above cases the local Official Receiver is working on potential recovery action.

Kevin Read, Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said:

In all of these cases it was obvious, or it should have been obvious, that they either misused the Bounce Back Loan for personal benefit, took a larger loan than they were eligible for, or weren’t eligible for a Bounce Back Loan at all.

This is taxpayers’ money they have abused and we will not hesitate to impose bankruptcy restrictions in these circumstances.

Notes to editors

Charlene Kylie Wilson is of South Shields, and her date of birth is July 1988. Details of her undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Georgiana Mariana Cercel is of Lincoln, and her date of birth is July 1995. Details of her undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Florin Petrisor Bodale is of Harrow, and his date of birth is June 1990. Details of his undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Sarah Louise Sweeting is of Bromley, and her date of birth is November 1974. Details of her undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Abbas Moradmand is of Bournemouth, and his date of birth is January 1971. Details of his undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Bankruptcy restrictions are wide ranging. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or to an undertaking. Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking.

Information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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Communities all across England will see millions more trees planted thanks to Government investment to expand woodlands.

The investment will create larger, well-designed and more diverse woodlands which will be more resilient to climate change, as well as natural hazards such as wildfires and storms – playing an important role in helping us adapt to a warmer world. They will help to reduce flood risk in vulnerable areas, provide sustainable UK grown timber and provide more places for nature and biodiversity to thrive.

England’s 13 Community Forests, including the Humber and Mersey Forests as well as partners including the Northern Forest and Great Northumberland Forest, are all set to benefit from the funding. As part of the Government’s £750 million Nature for Climate Fund, these projects will expand woodlands near our cities, towns, villages and rivers – giving more people greater access to nature and improving health and wellbeing.

Collectively around 2,300 hectares of trees – equivalent to around 3,220 football pitches – will be planted as part of this year’s £44.2 million funding allocation, playing an important role in Government ambitions to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament and reach net zero. It is estimated the planting announced today will see 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide absorbed by 2050, valued at nearly £100 million.

The funding will also create more green jobs within the forestry and environmental sectors, helping spread economic growth across the country.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, Forestry Minister, said:

Our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing all rely on nature.

As well as tackling the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, this significant funding will create diverse treescapes across the country and improve the health and wellbeing of local communities by giving them more opportunities to enjoy nature on their doorstep.

Sir William Worsley, Forestry Commission Chair, said:

The social, environmental and economic benefits of being in woodlands are well-documented, helping local communities to be happier, healthier and more pleasant places to live.

It is a personal mission of mine to make sure as many people as possible get to experience these benefits. This funding will ensure we plant trees in areas close to where people live, as well as providing job opportunities in new woodland creation through planting, establishing and managing trees.

Paul Nolan, Chair of England’s Community Forests, said:

England’s Community Forests welcome the opportunity to establish even more new woodlands close to people to deliver all the benefits that we know they provide.

Over the past two years, England’s Community Forests have worked closely with Defra, Forestry Commission, Natural England, over 70 local authorities and a huge range of landowners to establish more than 1000 hectares of new woodland. We are looking forward to continuing this joint endeavour and helping the country reach our net zero goal.

Community Forest plans contribute to the planning and regeneration strategies of the local authorities they work with, providing the green infrastructure needed to support regional growth. These plans are targeted to areas where woodland cover is lowest and focus tree planting towards more deprived communities – helping to level-up environmental benefits across the whole of England.

Local authorities will also benefit from further support announced today for the development of the new LA Tree and Woodland Strategies toolkit, launching in September in partnership with the Tree Council, Fera, Forestry Commission and Forest Research. This will help to build local capacity to plan for new trees and woodlands.

This announcement forms part of wider Government action to recover and restore nature, as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan, and commitments to reach net zero by 2050.

To see what grants are available from our partners, please visit Regional woodland grants and incentives.