Rico Iheagwara, a recruitment consultant from Hertfordshire, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after fraudulently obtaining £40,000 in Covid Bounce Back Loans intended for his Essex-based company, SJR Recruitment Limited.
Iheagwara secured two separate Bounce Back Loans worth £20,000 each from different banks, despite businesses being entitled to only one loan under the government scheme designed to support small businesses during the pandemic.
At St Albans Crown Court on May 16, Iheagwara was also ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity for his actions.
The Insolvency Service revealed that Iheagwara’s company was not trading when he applied for the loans in June and July 2020, making him ineligible for the funds.
He transferred the loan money into his personal accounts and used it for personal expenses, including rent and family support, rather than benefiting the business. SJR Recruitment later went into liquidation in April 2021, and no repayments were made on the loans.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, condemned Iheagwara’s abuse of taxpayer-backed schemes and stressed the commitment to prosecuting such fraudsters.
Iheagwara’s case echoes similar Covid loan fraud cases in the United States, where two Nigerian-American men face sentencing for defrauding government Covid relief funds.
The Insolvency Service is now working to recover the stolen funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
