A 47-year-old man from Glasgow has been sentenced to four years in prison after fraudulently claiming more than £710,000 in COVID-19 relief funds intended to support small businesses in Leeds during the height of the pandemic.
Aftab Baig posed as a senior employee at Greggs and made fake grant applications for 32 properties—none of which he had any legal connection to. The funds, meant to help businesses survive lockdown, were paid into a bank account linked to his catering business.
In May 2020, while small businesses were fighting to stay afloat, Baig contacted Leeds City Council claiming he was a property manager from Greggs' head office and needed business rates details he couldn't access due to lockdown.
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The council, believing the request was legitimate, shared the information, which Baig then used to submit false claims under the Small Business Grant Fund.
The fraud was soon uncovered, and the council froze the account before most of the funds were spent. However, over £90,000 remained missing.
Police Scotland arrested Baig in July 2020. During a search of his home, they discovered £16,000 in cash and forged remittance slips he allegedly planned to use in an attempt to recover the frozen money.
Baig was convicted of three counts of fraud at Leeds Crown Court in February.
Kelly Ward of the Crown Prosecution Service condemned his actions, saying:
"Baig exploited the chaos of the pandemic to steal taxpayer money meant to keep real businesses alive. Fraud like this robs our communities and won't go unpunished."
Authorities say efforts are now underway to recover any remaining assets linked to the crime.
