A dozen members of a national ‘organised crime group’ have been convicted of fraudulently claiming £2.5 million-worth of Covid-19 support grants. The men, eight from Birmingham, one from Walsall and three from Yorkshire, used non-trading businesses and stolen identities to cash in on support packages set up during the Covid crisis, making hundreds of fraudulent claims for grants, Bounce Back Loans and HMRC support payments.

They appeared before Birmingham Crown Court in two connected trials. Each of the 12 either entered guilty pleas or were convicted after trial of offences including conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Mark Jackson (No.8 Chambers) and Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles (St Philips Chambers), prosecuting on behalf of Birmingham City Council, said the group was responsible for a very well-planned, sophisticated and sustained attack upon the financial support measures put in place by the UK government to try to support businesses and individuals struggling during the Covid 19 pandemic.

There is to be a two day sentence on the 4th and the 5th of November.

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