Glasgow Man Jailed for £710k Covid Grant Scam
Aftab Baig, 47, from Glasgow, has been sentenced to four years behind bars for swindling over £710,000 in Covid-19 small business grants. The fraud targeted relief funds meant to help struggling companies during the pandemic.
Fake Greggs Manager Tricks Leeds Council
Baig impersonated a property manager at Greggs, submitting dozens of bogus grant claims to Leeds City Council in May 2020. Using stolen business rates reference numbers for 32 Leeds locations—falsely claimed to be Greggs branches—he pocketed more than £710,000.
He pretended to be a Group Property Manager at Greggs’ Head Office, convincing officials he couldn’t access necessary info due to lockdown restrictions. Baig used the details to apply for the business rates relief, funneling the cash into a bank account tied to his catering business. Importantly, Baig had no official affiliation with Greggs whatsoever.
Scam Uncovered, Most Money Recovered
Leeds City Council spotted the fraud quickly and launched an investigation. The account linked to Baig was frozen just weeks after the claims were made in May 2020. While most of the stolen money has now been recovered, over £90,000 remains missing.
The National Investigation Service (NATIS) led the probe, culminating in Baig’s arrest by Police Scotland at his Glasgow home in July 2020. Officers seized £16,000 in cash and forged payment slips Baig was allegedly preparing to use to unfreeze the funds.
CPS Slams ‘Brazen’ Fraudster
“Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic in 2020 to defraud the council out of taxpayers’ money,” said Kelly Ward from the Crown Prosecution Service. “Those who cheat the public purse steal funds meant for vital services and for supporting small businesses during an extremely challenging time.”
Mrs Ward added that legal action is now underway to claw back all assets obtained through Baig’s criminal deeds. NATIS praised the swift cooperation between law enforcement and local authorities to protect emergency public funding from scams like this.
