A Bradford man who stole the identity of one of his father’s tenants to apply for a Covid-19 business loan has been jailed for two years.

Shohid Ahmed (pictured above) was described by a judge as “callous” for the way he involved an innocent woman in his attempts to gain fraudulent loans near the start of the pandemic in 2020, stealing information, including passport details, she had given to his father in order to rent a property.

He claimed the woman was director of Red Square Restaurants, when in fact she had never even visited the premises.

Ahmed, 40, of Bardsey Crescent, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced for five charges relating to fraud and submitting misleading documents to obtain multiple bounce back loans at the height of the pandemic.

The fraud meant the business received £100,000 in loans, of which only £5,000 has been paid back.

Ahmed had pleaded guilty to all five charges, which related to a period between May and July 2020.

The court was told that Ahmed was the “shadow director” of Red Square Restaurants, but named his wife and his father’s tenant as directors of the company at different points in this period in order to fraudulently claim the loans.

One loan was provided by Santander and the other by Starling Bank. Each loan was worth £50,000.

The second woman had provided details to Ahmed’s father in order to rent her home, and the defendant used those details to name her as director of the company, and in the second successful Covid loan.

She had never been to the restaurant she was supposedly director of, but she received correspondence relating to the loan that was taken out in her name.

The company has since been wound up.

A victim impact statement presented to the court said the woman had suffered anxiety knowing her passport details had been used without her knowledge. She was concerned the incident could cause issues if she ever applied for loans in the future.

When first interviewed about the suspect loans, Ahmed argued that the woman was director of the company, and he was just a waiter at the restaurant, earning around £12,000 a year.

Mr Turner, defending, said Ahmed was a father of two who had no criminal convictions. He argued the money was spent on the business, but as the company has since been wound up he has seen no benefit from the fraud.

He said: “Had he have applied genuinely he likely would have been accepted for one of these loans. They are loans, not gifts. Anyone who took them knew they would have to be re-paid.”

He said Ahmed was no longer a restaurant owner, adding: “He has fallen from being a business owner to a waiter in a takeaway earning £1,200 a month.

He has brought shame on his family, they have never been involved in any criminal activity.”

Mr Turner said imprisonment for Covid loan fraud should be seen as a deterrent to others – but argued that due to Covid loans no longer being available, there was nothing to deter the public from.

He asked that Ahmed be given a community order.

Judge Sophie McKone said: “In 2020 this country was in the grip of the Covid- 19 pandemic, a national crisis. To help businesses, the Government set up a loan scheme to help businesses during lockdown.

The scheme was open to fraud due to the lack of checks, there was a great deal of trust in the public when applying for these loans to tell the truth.

You took advantage of a scheme designed to help businesses like yours and you cynically told lies to get money. For your greed you took money from the public purse at a time when the public purse could least afford it.”

She added: “You involved other people in this sophisticated enterprise. You used your wife’s details and, in particularly callous move, used the details of a tenant of your father’s. You stole her ID and used her details to facilitate your fraud.

After that you lied as to who was the company director and by saying the invoices you submitted were genuine invoices.

You applied for three bounce back loans in the space of a month and provided false details in your applications. Two applications were successful and you received loans of £100,000.”

She said that references provided to the court showed the defendant in a different light saying: “They speak of the good work you have done for your community.

But the only punishment that can be achieved in this case is that of immediate custody because of its serious nature.”

He was sentenced to 24 months in custody. Proceeds of crime hearing to claw back any money will be held at a later date.