Fraudulent firms shut down after securing loans with stolen identities
The Insolvency Service has shut down two connected companies after they fraudulently received more than £1m in Covid support loans.
Ledbridge Consultants and Montague Partners, which had registered offices in Birmingham and London, were found to have never genuinely traded and were used as fronts for securing large amounts of money.
Both failed to cooperate with the Insolvency Service, meaning investigators were unable to determine who controlled the companies and the purpose of significant payments made from their bank accounts.
The investigation by the Insolvency Service revealed that both companies used the personal data of unsuspecting job applicants to fraudulently register them as directors, shareholders, or investors and file false documents with Companies House.
Posing as financial intermediaries and management consultants, the companies fraudulently obtained £50,000 each through the UK government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme during the pandemic.
Montague Partners also secured £1.5m from the Future Fund, which was paid into its account. within a short space of time. Ten of the 35 beneficiaries received more than £75,000, spread out over numerous smaller transactions.
Ledbridge Consultants disbursed its £50,000 loan to various individuals and companies within weeks, leaving their account empty by June 2020. Despite this, Ledbridge Consultants later reported a £13.4m increase in net assets by August 2021. Montague Partners reported net assets of £2.2m in November 2020, a stark contrast to £1 the previous year.
Both firms were wound-up at the High Court in London last Tuesday (Sep 10) and the Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.
Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Taxpayers’ money from Covid support schemes was drained from company bank accounts and no evidence was provided that the funds were ever used for the business themselves.
“The allegations against Ledbridge Consultants and Montague Partners were extremely serious which is why it was important for us to apply to stop them from trading with immediate effect.”
