Devon taxi driver JAILED for £100,000 covid Bounce Back Loan fraud
A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently claimed two maximum-value Covid loans by inflating his turnover by more than £350,000 has been sentenced to prison.
Murat Dogantekin, 50, secured £100,000 in Bounce Back Loans from two banks just months into the pandemic, despite only being eligible for just over £4,000 under the scheme.
Dogantekin, from Exeter, transferred the funds to a close family member and an offshore bank account. He was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday 27 February.
Investigators found that in May and June 2020, Dogantekin applied for two separate £50,000 loans by falsely declaring annual turnovers of £200,000 and £205,000 for two self-employed taxi businesses. One of these businesses was allegedly trading as Ola Taxis, though further checks revealed it was actually named after a client.
In reality, Dogantekin had declared earnings of just £16,500 for the tax year ending April 2020. By overstating his income, he gained £95,875 more than he was entitled to.
Four days after receiving the first loan, he transferred £49,500 to another bank account under the description “shop purchase”. The next day, £48,000 of that amount was moved offshore. The second loan remained in his business account for over a month before being distributed to a family member and his own personal account within six days.
No repayments were made before Dogantekin was declared bankrupt in November 2021. When interviewed by the Official Receiver Services at the Insolvency Service, he provided limited documentation and then ignored 11 attempts to contact him over six months. He also failed to attend an interview under caution.
The Insolvency Service is now pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Mark Stephens, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Bounce Back Loans were created to support small and medium-sized businesses through the pandemic. They were not designed to be accessed by fraudsters and used as additional personal income paid for at the expense of taxpayers.
“Murat Dogantekin completely disregarded almost all the rules of the scheme. He significantly overstated his turnover, subsequently receiving far more support than he should have done. He fraudulently obtained two loans when businesses were only entitled to a single loan.
“To make matters worse, Dogantekin failed to use the money for the benefit of his business, concealing the true nature of his bank transactions with false references. He also did not pay a single penny back before he was declared bankrupt and failed to engage with our investigations.
“Such a blatant and deliberate misuse of public funds will not be tolerated by the Insolvency Service and we will continue to take action against those who stole from the taxpayer during a national emergency.”
