Fraud Friday – London Construction Company Director Banned from Running a Business After Abusing COVID Loan Program

December 9, 2022

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Fraud Friday – London Construction Company Director Banned from Running a Business After Abusing COVID Loan Program

Insolvency Service Assistant Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services Tom Phillips says: “The lengthy disqualifications should serve as a reminder to others that the Insolvency Service will not shirk from its responsibility in taking action in order to protect the public and the taxpayer.”

Lavinia-Larisa Mociar was banned from running a business for 11 years after claiming 50,000 British pounds from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, a COVID relief program in the U.K. to aid small and medium-sized businesses that were struggling. She was the sole director of L&M Construct Ltd until the company went into liquidation in November 2021.

When Mociar applied for the loan, the business had already ceased trading which was a requirement in the rules of the Bounce Back Loan scheme. In further support of the Bounce Back loan application, she exaggerated the company’s turnover to claim the maximum loan amount allowed which was 50,000 British pounds. At the time of the loan’s deposit in October 2020, the company’s bank account had less than 50 pounds.

The Insolvency Service, a government arm that addresses financial wrongdoing, found that before the end of 2020, Mociar withdrew more than 50,000 pounds from the company account, so none of the loan was used for the economic benefit of the business. Once the company went into liquidation, it owed about 50,000 pounds or the full amount of the loan.

Lavinia-Larisa Mociar’s disqualification began on November 8, 2022. For the next 11 years, she can not be directly or indirectly involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company without the court’s permission.

Sources:
Construction News Article
Construction Enquirer Article