Indian couple convicted of cheating in Covid loan scheme in Britain

(PTI) London, Ta. 3

Former Indian-origin leader and his wife have been convicted of providing false information to obtain a Covid-15 support loan offered by the British government.

Herman Bangar, 30, and his wife Nina Kumari, 3, were convicted by Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court last week. He will be sentenced by the same court in Central England on January 14, 203.

The court passed the sentence after hearing arguments from the former local councilor. He used his position and knowledge to commit fraud by abusing the national crisis. Wendy Stevens, Crown Prosecution Service (CPC) Special Fraud Prosecutor for Fraud, said Bangar had a deep understanding of such cowardly aid schemes and had tried to take advantage of a system.

According to the prosecution, the couple had given false information to get ૦૦ 10,000 under the Covid-12 bounce back loan scheme. He said in his application that the pizza plus business has been running since October, 2016 but in fact the business was started in April last year.

The anti-fraud team found in the investigation that the power supply to the business address was cut off till May 15, 2020.