A fraudster business owner who attempted to claim almost £28,000 in Covid grant funding has been sentenced for his ‘disgraceful’ breach of trust after it was discovered he had vacated the premises which he based his claims on.

Abbas Sharief, 60, of Doncaster Avenue, Withington, was convicted of three counts of fraud by false representation at Wigan Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (March 28) after applying for three grants aimed at helping businesses during the pandemic.

The court heard that Sharief had applied for and was granted £10,000 from the Small Business Rates Grant Fund, which was to support business owners forced to close during the pandemic, in April 2020.

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To be eligible for the fund, owners had to be actively trading from a registered address but Sharief had already vacated the premises where he based his claim prior to the pandemic.

On January 18, 2021, Sharief applied for a Local Restrictions Grant stating he was still occupying the business premises. He was awarded £9,669.21 after his application was approved. He also applied for a Restart Grant of £8,000 on April 13, 2021 but his application was later rejected.

Had all three applications been successful, he would have received close to £28,000 in grant support. Sharief has since repaid the two fraudulently claimed grants back in full.

An investigation by Manchester Council’s Audit and Risk Management Team, with assistance from the Council’s business rates department, in July 2021 found that Sharief was not in occupation at the registered address at the time of applying for any of the grants.

Sharief pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on February 9, 2023. At Wigan Magistrates’ Court this week, he was sentenced to three concurrent terms of 26 weeks in prison, which was suspended for 12 months, and a 12-week curfew order between 7pm and 7am.

Having already paid back the two fraudulently claimed grants, Sharief was ordered to pay £1,000 in costs alongside a victim surcharge of £129.

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Covid support funding was for thousands of businesses a vital lifeline during the pandemic. Many businesses which would have otherwise failed were saved as a result.

“It is a disgraceful breach of trust for an individual to enrich themselves during one of the most uncertain periods in modern history.

“The Council is encouraged by this sentence, believing it will send a message to other fraudsters that they will be found out and brought to justice.”

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