Lancashire plasterer exaggerated turnover by more than £200,000 to secure maximum-value Covid loan

• Jordan Allen fraudulently secured a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan in 2020 - the most businesses were entitled to under the scheme - by overstating his turnover by more than £200,000 
• His plastering business should only have received around £5,000 if he had submitted an accurate application for the loan 
• Allen, who was declared bankrupt the following year and is currently subject to stringent bankruptcy restrictions, used the loan for personal expenses such as supermarket shopping and gambling 

A Lancashire plasterer who overstated his business’s turnover to secure a maximum-value Covid loan spent the funds on groceries, gambling, fantasy football, and almost 40 withdrawals from cash machines. 

Jordan Allen, 39, was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, when he appeared at Preston Crown Court on Monday 20 January. 

Allen, of Monarch Street, Oswaldtwistle, was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity. 

He must also pay £3,600 in compensation. 

David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 

Jordan Allen made a blatantly false statement by exaggerating the turnover of his business by more than £200,000 and securing a maximum-value Bounce Back Loan in the process. 

From analysing his accounts, the most Allen was entitled to from the scheme was around £5,000, not the £50,000 he fraudulently obtained. 

Allen then made matters worse by spending the money on personal expenses, and not to support his business through the pandemic. 

This was taxpayers’ money and Allen was not entitled to all these funds which is why he now has a criminal conviction for this fraudulent behaviour.

Allen applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan on behalf of his PlasteRend business in October 2020, stating that his estimated annual turnover was £225,000. 

Insolvency Service analysis revealed his turnover for 2018 to 2019 was £20,220 and for 2019 to 2020 was £20,330. 

Allen claimed that he was “optimistic” at the time that a business opportunity which failed to materialise would have seen his turnover increase to the level he submitted in his application. 

The rules of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, however, clearly stated that it was an actual, rather than projected turnover, that should be declared on the application form. 

Bounce Back Loan funds which were paid into Allen’s business account were transferred to his personal account in January and February 2021. 

Almost £17,000 worth of personal spending was identified by the Insolvency Service as soon as the funds arrived in Allen’s personal account. 

He made 39 cash withdrawals, each worth £250, in a six-week period between mid-February and early April in 2021. 

In addition to the £9,750 he withdrew, Allen also spent more than £7,000 on groceries, gambling, a raffle and fantasy football. 

Allen said his personal bank account was used for running both his business and managing his personal accounts. 

However, the funds in his account outside of the Bounce Back Loan and a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant he also secured in May 2021 were not sufficient to support his personal spending during that period. 

Allen was declared bankrupt in September 2021 and signed a 10-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking in July 2022, restricting him from being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status. 

Further information 

• Jordan Allen is of Monarch Street, Oswaldtwistle. His date of birth is 19 October 1985 
• Sentenced for: Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006  
• Read more about the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and the action the Insolvency Service can take if it finds misconduct 
• Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order or Undertaking 
• Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.