A Glasgow man has been sentenced to four years in prison for orchestrating a large-scale fraud against a local council during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aftab Baig, 47, of Paisley Road West, falsely presented himself as a manager representing numerous Greggs bakery locations to illegally obtain government grants intended for struggling businesses.
In May 2020, Baig contacted Leeds City Council, impersonating a group property manager from Greggs headquarters. He crafted a deceptive email—appearing to originate from a legitimate “Greggs corporate” address—requesting business rates information for branches in Leeds, citing lockdown restrictions as the reason he couldn’t access them directly.
Utilizing this obtained data, Baig submitted fraudulent applications for rates relief totaling over £710,000 from the small business grant fund. The funds were deposited into a bank account linked to his own catering enterprise.
- The council detected the fraud five days later, leading to the freezing of Baig’s account.
- Prior to this action, he had already transferred £95,000 to separate accounts.
While most of the fraudulently obtained funds were eventually recovered, more than £90,000 remains outstanding.
The scheme exploited a system designed for rapid processing during lockdown, intentionally streamlined with limited security checks to swiftly assist businesses facing economic hardship.
Recorder of Leeds Guy Kearl KC condemned the fraud as “a disgraceful attempt to deprive the government of monies which were in short supply at a time of extreme public anxiety and crisis.”
The judge further characterized it as a sophisticated operation aimed at stealing funds meant to support businesses navigating unprecedented challenges.
Baig was apprehended at his Glasgow residence in July 2020. A search of his home revealed approximately £16,000 in cash and what police believed were forged remittance slips intended to manipulate the bank into releasing frozen assets.
The court mandated that Baig serve half of his four-year sentence before being eligible for release on license.
Proceedings are ongoing to recover additional funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Kelly Ward, from the Crown Prosecution Service, stated: “Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic in 2020 to defraud the council out of taxpayers’ money. Those who cheat the public purse are stealing funds which should rightly go towards services and the community, or in this case towards supporting small businesses through an extremely challenging time.”
