Man who pretended to be Greggs bakery swindled councils out of nearly £200,000

A ‘sickening’ fraudster who scammed Rochdale council and two other local authorities out of nearly £200,000 through a Covid-19 support scheme has avoided prison.

Rais Kayani, of Farley Hill in Luton, pretended to be the well-known bakery Greggs as he made claims for small business grants via the relief scheme designed to help struggling businesses during the pandemic. The Government had made emergency funds available to companies in need of urgent help via the Small Business Grant Fund, which was administered by local authorities.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty previously to a single count of entering into a money laundering arrangement at Southwark Crown Court. On Monday (July 3) he was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features

A National Investigation Service (NATIS) investigation revealed that between May 4 and May 9, 2020, multiple false applications were made for the Small Business Grant Fund at St Helen’s, Thurrock and Rochdale local authorities. The three councils were defrauded of £35,000, £85,000 and £75,000 respectively – leading to a total loss of £195,000.

The frauds were perpetrated by unknown individuals impersonating genuine ratepayers. For example, in the fraud against St Helens Local Authority, fraudsters sent correspondence to the council impersonating Greggs, the well-known high-street baker.

Genuine business rate account numbers were used to support false applications for rate grants which were awarded by the local authority. Investigators were unable to identify who submitted the fraudulent applications but the requested payments were all transferred for the benefit of the bank