Leeds, UK — A Glasgow man has been convicted of defrauding Leeds City Council of over £710,000 by posing as an employee of Greggs and falsely claiming pandemic support funds.
Aftab Baig, 47, made fraudulent claims against 32 Greggs branches in Leeds, using the money meant for small businesses as part of the Government’s Small Business Grant Fund. In May 2020, Baig contacted Leeds Council pretending to be a property manager at Greggs and requested business rate numbers for the Leeds branches. He claimed he could not access these details due to the lockdown.
Baig, who had no association with Greggs, then used the information to apply for £710,000 in rates relief, which was subsequently paid into a bank account tied to his catering business.
When the council realized the claims were fraudulent, they took immediate action to freeze the account. While most of the money was recovered, over £90,000 remained unaccounted for. During a search of Baig’s home in Glasgow, police found £16,000 in cash and forged remittance slips, which Baig allegedly planned to use to reclaim the frozen funds.
Baig was arrested in July 2020 by Police Scotland, and after a trial at Leeds Crown Court, he was found guilty of three counts of fraud on February 12, 2025.
Kelly Ward of the Crown Prosecution Service remarked, “Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic to steal taxpayer money that should have supported small businesses during challenging times. We will continue to work with investigators to ensure offenders like Baig face justice and work to recover assets from such criminal acts.”
