- Irena Tokarczyk fraudulently claimed a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan
- She then dissolved her company without telling the bank which provided the loan – a breach of the law
- Tokarczyk was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for 12 months, and will face a confiscation order next year to recover the money
A Company Director from Watford has been given a suspended prison sentence after claiming a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan and then dissolving her business.
Irena Tokarczyk, 66, from Ashburnham Drive in Watford, was the sole director of Good Food Shops Ltd when she applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan on 26 June 2020 – the maximum amount allowed under the rules of the scheme.
Good Food Shops Ltd was then dissolved in October 2020, with the amount of the loan still outstanding, triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Chief Investigator Mark Stephens said:
Irena Tokarczyk exploited the Bounce Back Loan scheme at a time when businesses in the UK were facing some of their toughest times.
Her sentence shows the Insolvency Service will strive for the toughest penalties for those who abuse taxpayers’ money.
We will continue to seek recovery of the money to return it to the public purse.
Investigators discovered that Tokarczyk had applied for the loan, knowing that the rules of the scheme stipulated that it must be repaid by the company.
Investigators also found no evidence that the company, which was registered to an address in Greenford Road, Harrow, had ever actually traded.
However, on 1 July 2020 Tokarczyk applied for a voluntary strike-off of the company in order to dissolve the business and avoid paying back the £50,000 she had claimed on its behalf.
By law, anyone applying to dissolve a company must inform the firm’s lenders or creditors of the application within seven days.
Tokarczyk pleaded guilty to fraud and a breach of the Companies Act 2006 at Isleworth Crown Court on 5 November 2024. She was handed an 18 month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months for failing to perform the duties of a director, and a further two-year jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, for fraud. Her sentences will run concurrently.
Each of the sentences included 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity.
Tokarczyk was also disqualified as a company director for three years from 5 November 2024, which will prevent her from running or managing a company without the permission of the court.
The Insolvency Service is seeking to recover the money through a Proceeds of Crime Confiscation Order, which is due to be heard in court in January 2025.
