A man who defrauded Leeds City Council out of £710,000 during the Covid pandemic has been sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2020, Aftab Baig, 47, told the council he worked at Greggs’ head office in order to find out business rates numbers for 32 branches of the fast-food chain.
He used the details to apply for £710,000 of rates relief, which was paid into a bank account associated with his catering business.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: ‘We are pleased that this case has been brought to a conclusion and that the perpetrator has been held to account for what was a brazen and calculated act of fraud.
‘This money was intended to support local businesses in Leeds at a time when they were facing unprecedented pressures and when the city and its communities were coming together to get through the pandemic.’
