Latest news with #Northolt
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Jagoda Rubaszko handed suspended sentence for Covid loan fraud
A Northolt woman who invented a business to get a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan backed by the government has been sentenced for Rubaszko made up administrative service company which she falsely claimed had a turnover of £210, then paid the loan into five separate bank accounts in Poland over a two-month was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, suspended for 21 months, for fraud by misrepresentation at Isleworth Crown Court on 5 June. Fraudulently obtained funds She will be tagged and under curfew between 19:30 and 06:00 every day for six months and must complete 175 hours of unpaid was investigated by The Insolvency Service, a government agency that administers compulsory company liquidations and personal service said it is seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained Bounce Back Loan Scheme was designed to enable businesses to access finance more quickly during the coronavirus applied to a bank for a loan on 26 April 2021, which was approved on 28 April 2021 and paid into her bank the application, she claimed she had been operating a business since 1 March 2020 and had a turnover of £210,000. But investigations into Rubaszko's finances showed her tax returns were no higher than £15,100 each year between 2019 and 2021. '£17,500 commission' In a prepared statement, Rubaszko claimed to have been contacted by a man called Daniel, who told her how to apply for the loan, and to declare herself bankrupt to avoid repaying Rubaszko admitted she had never met Daniel, even though she said she paid him a £17,500 commission for his "help" after receiving the £50, bank records showed no such payment was made – instead, 22 smaller payments up to £11,690 were made to five individual bank accounts in declaring herself bankrupt, Rubaszko was subject to a 10-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking (BRU) on 12 May 2023. The BRU prevents her from managing a limited company until 2033. 'Staggering cost to taxpayers' Chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, Mark Stephens, said Rubaszko claimed to be a business director, but she had no business at all, and now reality has "caught up with her".He added: "She invented a man called Daniel, who she has blamed for her actions, claiming he had told her to apply for the loan, and she believed she'd get away with this by declaring herself bankrupt."What is definitely real, is that she took money which was meant to help businesses during a difficult period, and sent that funding off to the bank accounts of five men in Poland."The bounce back scheme provided a total of £47bn in loans of which an estimated £4.9bn was lost to House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said in 2022 that the focus on delivery of the bounce back loans meant lenders were not required to do credit or affordability checks - or even verify application offset this risk to lenders the government guaranteed the loans 100% - meaning that if the borrower did not repay the loan, the taxpayer committee concluded that the scheme came at a "staggering" cost to the taxpayer and money that "could have been spent on improving existing public services, reducing taxes or to reduce government borrowing".
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Mouldy Northolt flat is health risk, claims elderly resident
In Karoon Islaaw's living room, mould spreads from the ground to the ceiling on almost every 67-year-old said she avoids having guests in her 24th storey Northolt council flat because she does not like people seeing the mould, which plagues almost every room. Even in the summer, the state of the windows means her flat in Academy Gardens gets extremely cold. She said she "feels the cold worse, because of my age, also my arthritis… I can't walk much, my bones are sore when I'm colder. It gets complicated." She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she believed the mould problem originated from leaks, poor ventilation and outdated windows. Between the panes, evidence of condensation indicates the window seal had failed, allowing heat to escape.A few weeks ago, Mrs Islaaw's radiators broke, forcing her to buy portable said: "Sometimes I would have people over, and they see that mould … I don't like that, I don't like having people see that in my home."She said she feels at risk from the scale of the mould in the property and when she wiped it away, it simply came claimed Ealing Council has not helped her, despite reporting the issues on numerous occasions. She said recent calls have gone "unanswered". "I don't get any help, it can cost a lot to have the heating on a lot. Life isn't what it used to be like… I don't even want a new place, I just want the repairs. I don't have an answer for why they [Ealing Council] didn't do anything for years." She told LDRS: "I called the council around two years ago, they sent someone to come and have a look at the flat, but they didn't do anything. It's been seven years since any repairs."It was actually worse than this, it's disgusting. Compared to before this actually looks okay, it was that bad."An Ealing Council spokesperson said they were "sorry to hear of the issues that Mrs Islaaw has faced" but said their records indicate they have not been reported to the added that they have arranged for a local surveyor to visit her, and a housing officer to make contact and "ensure we are offering the right support".They also said that residents should raise repair issues "as soon as possible so we can take the appropriate action".
