Retailers disqualified after abusing COVID-19 loans

David Okot from Deptford, South-East London, received an 11-year disqualification, while Southsea’s Jason Meads has been banned for 10 years.

The retailers are now prevented from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Mr Ocaya Okot (40) was sole director of B&S News Ltd, which traded as a newsagent and convenience shop, B&S Newsagents, on Manor Lane in Lewisham, London.

Mr Okot purchased the shop in 2014 and ran it successfully until 2020 when increased competition in the area and rising costs meant that the business was no longer viable. The shop closed in January 2020 after failing to find a buyer.

Investigators, however, uncovered that Mr Okot successfully applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for B&S News Ltd in July 2020, despite being ineligible as the government-backed loan was only available for businesses trading during the pandemic. This was after the company had stopped trading.

Further inquiries found that Mr Okot caused B&S News Ltd to transfer close to £50,000 from the company bank account into his personal account. The former convenience store owner said he was looking to relocate the business with the money, but investigators found no evidence to support this claim.

And Jason Meads, from Southsea, Portsmouth, was the sole director of Hodl Clothing Limited. The company was incorporated in April 2018 and operated as an online clothing retailer.

The company, however, went into liquidation in October 2021 before the Insolvency Service uncovered Mr Meads had received government loans Hodl Clothing Limited wasn’t entitled to.

Investigators discovered that Hodl Clothing Limited applied for two Bounce Back Loans and received £37,500 after Mr Meads falsely claimed turnover was £150,000 when turnover was £0.

Further inquiries uncovered that Mr Meads transferred more than £36,000 from the Bounce Back Loan to a personal account but could not provide any evidence that the funds were used for the economic benefit of Hodl Clothing Limited.