UK hotelier blamed banks after £450,000 COVID loan fraud

A London hotelier who obtained £450,000 through fraudulent COVID-19 loan applications blamed banks for approving the money, but admitted nine fraud charges and one count of money laundering.

Richard Courtenay, 62, submitted nine Bounce Back Loan applications between May and June 2020 through five companies. Each application sought the scheme’s maximum £50,000. The UK Insolvency Service said he inflated company turnover, applied for multiple loans for the same business and did not use the funds for business purposes.

Courtenay first applied for Hotel Belgravia Limited, declaring turnover of £500,000 even though the company later filed dormant accounts. He then moved the funds into Lebex Limited and to two associates. He applied three days later for a £50,000 loan for Belgravia Rooms Limited, falsely declaring £400,000 in turnover, and submitted a second application for the same company one month later.

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Courtenay inflated the turnover of his companies, dishonestly secured multiple loans for the same business and failed to use the funds for business purposes.

He also secured £200,000 for Lebex Limited through four separate banks. The applications contained inconsistent turnover figures of £600,000, £500,000 and £400,000, while falsely stating that the company had not previously received a loan. The funds went into his personal accounts, other companies and cryptoassets.

For Directlingua Limited, Courtenay declared £400,000 in turnover even though the company held little more than £14,000 in cash. The Home Office said he repaid the full £450,000 only after investigators began examining his conduct. Southwark Crown Court sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended for three years, and ordered 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity.

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repaid the £450,000 in full, but only after investigations into his criminal conduct had begun.