Latest news with #CovidLoans
The Sun
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Dragon's Den star & gold medal-winning athlete took out £100k in fraud loans despite £75k show investment
A DRAGON'S Den winner and former Team GB gold medallist fraudulently used Covid loans to buy himself a £1.8million mansion. Rick Beardsell illegally pocketed £100,000 worth of taxpayers cash to purchase his home - despite receiving a £75,000 investment during his stint on the BBC show. 6 6 6 The 46-year-old fiddled two Covid Bounce Back loans to buy himself five-bed Holly House in the exclusive village of Prestbury, Cheshire. Dad-of-two Beardsell was only entitled to apply for one loan worth £50,000, but fraudulently applied for two and greatly exaggerated his annual turnover by up to 23 times. It came after the world champion sprinter had successfully secured investments from TV Dragons Tej Lalvani and Deborah Meaden for his successful protein shake bottle business, ShakeSphere. Chester Crown Court heard he applied for the loan to prop up his other company, Sports Creative Ltd, but none of the money went towards the sportswear business. Prosecutor Geoff Whealan told the court Beardsell made the fraudulent applications to HSBC in December 2020 and then to NatWest in January 2021. He said: ''The defendant stated on the HSBC form that the turnover of Sports Creative was £485,000 and on the NatWest form said it was £320,000. "But unaudited financial statements showed turnover for the year end February 2020 was £20,622. ''The turnover was clearly exaggerated to secure the maximum bounce back loan. "Subsequent transactions showed the bounce back loan funds were not being used for the economic benefit or business purposes of Sports Creative at this time.'' The money arrived in Sports Creative's account in January 2021, but then almost £400,000 was transferred to Beardsell's personal Santander account in the space of six months. Then £431,160.80, including the remaining bounce back loan funds, was transferred to a firm of solicitors for the purchase of Holly House he bought with his wife Ezster. Mr Whelan added: ''In effect the bounce back loan funds had been used for this purchase. "It can be inferred from the defendant's conduct that it was his intention to use the bounce back loans for this purpose at the time he made the application for it." Beardsell, who won two World Records for sprinting, faced three years in jail after he admitted two charges of fraud. In October 2024, he attended an interview under caution at the Insolvency Services offices. In a statement he said: ''The guidance pertaining to Bounce Back Loans indicated that the proceeds of such loans may be utilised for any purpose that yields a direct benefit to the company. ''At that juncture, I sought professional advice and was advised that such purposes include, but are not limited to, the coverage of overhead expenses or outstanding liabilities, as well as the investment in company assets or property. "The funds that were transferred to my personal account constituted a director's loan and other economical overheads for the business.'' Mitigating, his counsel Nichola Cafferkey explained that the loans had been repaid in full to the banks. She said: ''The loss of his good character is of some significance in respect of a man who has dedicated his life to his family, his professional entities and also his sporting endeavours. "These offences were out of character and were committed four years ago. "He has taken responsibility and repaid the money back. He knows that it's his own fault. "He has brought shame on his family and brought shame on himself. ''His wife is also his business partner and concerns that they have had about the ability to provide financially for their young children have been significant." The court also heard that Beardsell had suffered a series of medical issues both before and after securing the loans. Ms Cafferkey continued: "A year prior to the submission of the first loan application, the defendant was diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer and required surgery and extensive chemotherapy. "The chemotherapy was successful but led to some significant side effects. ''One of those being vertigo, of which he had a severe episode which required hospitalisation and thereafter there are ongoing long-term issues as a result of that. 6 6 "The investigations brought on by the defendant's own actions has had an impact on his family which has led to a situation where he has been experiencing significant stress over the past few years. "On top of that there are ongoing knee pains associated with his athletic success at national and international level. "He has been running a business for many years without issue and it is plain he is extremely remorseful and regretful for his actions. "The impact on his wife's physical health in terms of stress and strain has been significant. There has been significant weight loss and insomnia. "This will be the only time that Richard Beardsell appears before the court." Beardsell was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £11,142.70. Judge Simon Berkson told Beardsell: "You fraudulently lied and lied again in your applications for these loans. "They were supposed to be for use in keeping your business running but the money was used for your own personal needs and the needs of your family. "This is not a victimless crime. The government was trying to help struggling businesses at the time of national crisis. "People were in lock down, people were dying and people were very ill at the time when people required their public services. "You used fraudulently obtained public funds for your own use, depriving honest people of the scheme's funds when the country was in crisis. "You are a generally successful man both in business and in sports, particularly your involvement with athletics. "You continue to run your business and it was on the TV programme Dragons' Den. "You are a married person with two children and they are young children. You have survived an aggressive form of cancer. "I have concluded that an immediate custodial sentence would have a significant harmful impact on your wife and children.'' 6
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham man used firm's Covid money for shopping and days out
A fitness company owner who spent Covid loans for his company at a safari park, restaurants and paying off credit cards has been given a suspended jail Dar, 34, from Birmingham, dishonestly obtained £45,500 in three Covid Bounce Back Loans for his company JDARPT Ltd, when businesses were only entitled to one, the Insolvency Service from the loans was only supposed to be used for the economic benefit of the business. Dar, from Stratford Road, who used some of the funds for legitimate purposes, was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for 18 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court, after pleading guilty. He was also ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £2, were made to Amazon and Argos, along with spending at restaurants and meat stores, the Insolvency Service spending was identified at West Midlands Safari Park and making credit card payments, alongside genuine business expenditure. 'Significant sums' Dar deliberately made false representations to fraudulently receive three loans, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service David Snasdell added: "Instead of using this money to support his fitness business through the pandemic as intended, he diverted significant sums for personal spending."Dar made fraudulent applications to three banks for Bounce Back Loans during 2020 for his fitness company, the Insolvency Service first fraudulent application was for a £13,000 loan in May 2020 and in it he claimed the turnover of JDAPRT, which went into liquidation in July 2021, was £55, days later, Dar made a second application to a different bank for £15,000, saying his company's turnover was now £60, third fraudulent application in September was for a loan of £17,500, when he claimed turnover was £70,000. Insolvency Service analysis revealed the company's turnover was closer to £61, admitted three charges of dishonestly making false representation to make gain for self/another or cause loss to another/expose other to Snasdell said: "The Insolvency Service will not tolerate abuse of the public purse and will continue to pursue fraudsters who exploited schemes designed to help legitimate businesses during a national crisis." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Times
James McMurdock took bank salary while ‘claiming Covid loans'
A former Reform MP who allegedly borrowed tens of thousands of pounds in Covid loans received a salary from an international bank throughout the pandemic. James McMurdock suspended himself from Reform UK last week after The Sunday Times posed questions about £70,000 he borrowed through two firms in 2020: one previously dormant, the other with negligible assets. The South Basildon & East Thurrock MP later said he had quit Nigel Farage's party after taking 'specialist advice' which 'is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time'. He remains under investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards and was separately referred to the Public Sector Fraud Authority by the Covid corruption commissioner last week. Reform has called for him to resign so a by-election can take place.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Suspended Reform MP James McMurdock quits party after Covid loan questions
James McMurdock has said he will not return to Reform UK after resigning the whip over questions related to Covid loans, becoming the second MP to leave the party since the general election last year. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock 'removed the party whip from himself' last week, pending the outcome of an investigation relating to allegations around 'business propriety during the pandemic'. It comes after a Sunday Times investigation alleged two businesses connected to Mr McMurdock took out Covid -19 loans totalling £70,000 during the pandemic, one of which had no employees. On Tuesday, the MP said he 'had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' since the loans came to light. Writing on social media site X, he added: 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100 per cent on the interests of my constituents.' Mr McMurdock is the second Reform MP to leave the party following the departure of Rupert Lowe earlier this year, who now also sits as an independent. Mr Lowe was expelled from Reform in March amid allegations of bullying, which he has strongly denied. According to Companies House, Mr McMurdock is listed as the current director of Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, and a former director of J A M Financial Limited, a position he resigned in 2021. Both firms are shown to have overdue accounts and confirmation statements, and both have an 'active proposal to strike off'. Over the weekend, Mr McMurdock insisted that 'all my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same'. He said he had asked for the Reform whip to be suspended temporarily as a 'precautionary measure'. Speaking to Reform councillors on Monday morning, Nigel Farage said 'how we behave matters', adding that he 'can't apologise' for the 2024 election vetting process because he was not involved in it. 'I came in, I inherited this situation where hundreds of candidates who stood in the last general election had not gone through a vetting process', he said, seeking to distance himself from the process. 'I said on July 5, the day after the election last year, that we would now professionalise. 'We put 1,630 candidates into the field on May 1, more than any other party with very, very few rows or arguments – so the vetting process worked for this year, I can't apologise for what happened before.' The Reform leader did not answer when asked whether the allegations faced by Mr McMurdock were an embarrassment for his party. 'Let's find out the truth, I know as much about this right now as you do,' said Mr Farage. Addressing Reform UK Kent County Council councillors on the steps inside County Hall, he said: 'Behaving with integrity is a responsibility upon all of you, although that doesn't mean you all have to become stuffed shirts or anything like that. 'You are holders of public office you are responsible and how we behave matters.'
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
MP James McMurdock quits Reform PERMANENTLY after taking 'specialist legal advice' ahead of probe into Covid business loans worth £70,000
Former Reform MP James McMurdock said he was quitting the party for good today as he faces an investigation over Covid loans he took out during the pandemic. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock resigned the whip on Saturday, shortly before The Sunday Times published a story about loans worth £70,000 given to two businesses - one of which had no staff. He said at the time the decision to sit as an independent was temporary, pending the outcome of a Commons investigation. But this afternoon he took to X to say that after taking 'specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' he would not be seeking to rejoin. He added: 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100 per cent on the interests of my constituents.' It means that Nigel Farage 's party, which won five seats at the general election, now has just four MP, having lost two and gained one in the tumultuous year since. Mr McMurdock and Rupert Lowe have left to become independents, while Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election earlier this year. But this afternoon he took to X to say that after taking 'specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' he would not be seeking to rejoin. McMurdock, 39, who was previously jailed for attacking an ex-girlfriend, was accused by the Sunday Times of taking out the maximum loan of £50,000 for his firm JAM Financial Limited, which had no employees and almost no assets until the pandemic. In order to qualify for a £50,000 loan from the government, companies had to have a turnover of more than £200,000. Documents on Companies House showed how the firm's 'current assets' jumped from just £125 in 2019 to £50,137 in 2020, the year of the loan. After receiving the money, McMurdock allegedly then resigned from the company and gave his shares to his mother. A second company, Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, was a dormant company until the end of January in 2020 yet borrowed £20,000 during the pandemic, for which it would have had to have a turnover of £100,000. Neither company has filed accounts or annual corporate filings since the loans. Both companies were set to be struck from the register, meaning they would cease to exist - but this was paused by a complaint from a third party, thought to be in relation to the outstanding loans. McMurdock has also been accused by the paper of breaching parliamentary rules by failing to declare that he is a director of the Gym business on his register of interests. Mr McMurdock insisted when the Sunday Times news story broke that 'all my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same'. He said he had asked for the Reform whip to be suspended temporarily as a 'precautionary measure'.
