Fraudster secured Covid loan by inventing turnover for non-existent business
London fraudster provided fictitious turnover for a business which never existed to obtain the loan

- Rian O鈥橩eeffe successfully applied for a 拢50,000 Bounce Back Loan in July 2020 on behalf of what he claimed was his Trainersource business聽
- However, the business did not, and never had, existed聽
- O鈥橩eeffe used the funds for general living expenses and had no intention of ever paying the loan back聽
A fraudster who illegally secured a 拢50,000 Bounce Back Loan designed to support businesses during the Covid pandemic has been handed a suspended sentence.聽
Rian O鈥橩eeffe, 28, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday 30 April.聽
O鈥橩eeffe, of Lisgar Terrace, Hammersmith, is also subject to a three-month curfew and must complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity.聽
Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:聽
Rian O鈥橩eeffe abused the government-backed Bounce Back Loan Scheme designed to help businesses through the pandemic.
He claimed to own a business that was never in existence, provided a totally fictitious turnover, and used the funds he fraudulently secured for his own personal use.
O鈥橩eeffe applied for the loan in July 2020, falsely stating in his application that his Trainersource business had been trading in March of that year with a turnover of 拢312,000.聽
In interviews, he admitted to Insolvency Service investigators that his statement was inaccurate, accepting he had not started a business on that date or subsequently.聽
Trainersource never traded and was only an idea O鈥橩eeffe had for a business which he claimed was why he applied for the loan.聽
O鈥橩eeffe also committed fraud by misusing the funds and declaring on his application that he would only use the money for the benefit of his business.聽
Soon after obtaining the loan, O鈥橩eeffe made more than 150 transfers to two personal accounts between August and October 2020. He withdrew 拢14,000 on the day he received the loan and a further 拢8,000 just over a month later.聽
O鈥橩eeffe confirmed to the Insolvency Service that he had misrepresented what the money was to be used for and said he spent it on general living expenses.聽
He was declared bankrupt in November 2021 and accepted a 12-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking (BRU) in October 2022.聽
The BRU prevents him from acting as a company director during that period, borrowing more than 拢500 without declaring his restrictions, and working in various posts in the education and health sector.聽
Further information聽
- Rian O鈥橩eeffe is of Lisgar Terrace, Hammersmith. His date of birth is 5 September 1995聽
- Sentenced for: Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006聽
- Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.