Print director sentenced for fraudulent Covid-19 claim
A director of a printing firm has been handed a suspended sentence for fraudulently obtaining a second Covid-19 loan during the pandemic.
Prashant Jobanputra, director of now-dissolved print company, Genesis Web, secured £100k across two Bounce Back Loans, despite businesses only being allowed a maximum of one £50k loan under the scheme. The two loans were claimed within a five-day period in the summer of 2020.
According to the UK government’s Insolvency Service, Jobanputra falsely declared on the second application that he had not previously sought financial support under the Bounce Back Loan scheme, which was designed to support businesses through the pandemic.
Yesterday [January 27th], the 41-year-old was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months at the Old Bailey criminal court. Jobanputra was also disqualified as a company director for three years and fined £5,000.
According to the Insolvency Service, Jobanputra repaid £15,371 of the fraudulent Bounce Back Loan in November 2025, weeks before he was initially due to be sentenced. The remaining £35k has not been paid back.
The Insolvency Service investigations are now moving to recovering the remaining funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, says: “Prashant Jobanputra fraudulently applied for two Bounce Back Loans when the rules were clear – businesses were only allowed one.
“We will be conducting further investigations to recover the remaining funds. Tackling Covid support scheme abuse remains a key priority for the Insolvency Service and we will continue to track down and prosecute fraudsters who stole from the public purse during a national emergency.”
Genesis Web was registered on Companies House in November 2004, with Jobanputra appointed as director on the same day. The business provided a range of personalised print items for businesses and individual customers.
Jobanputra was also the sole director of the company when he applied to a separate bank for the second £50k Bounce Back Loan in July 2020.
According to the Insolvency Service, Jobanputra said in interviews that his company was badly affected by the pandemic and that he did not read the loan agreement which stated that businesses were only entitled to a single Bounce Back Loan.
Genesis Web went into liquidation in October 2021 and was dissolved in March 2024.
