Jagoda Rubaszko handed suspended sentence for Covid loan fraud

Jagoda Rubaszko from Northolt has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 21 months, for fraudulently securing a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan. She fabricated a business narrative, claiming a turnover of £210,000, and funneled the loan into five bank accounts in Poland. An investigation by The Insolvency Service revealed her actual tax returns were only £15,100 yearly from 2019 to 2021. Rubaszko also falsely asserted that a man named Daniel advised her on the loan application and bankruptcy declaration, although no evidence of such a payment exists. Instead, her records showed multiple smaller transactions to Polish accounts.

The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery of the misappropriated funds, highlighting the scheme's vulnerability to fraud. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme aimed to assist struggling businesses during the pandemic, yet it resulted in an estimated £4. 9 billion in fraudulent claims. This situation raises concerns about taxpayer costs associated with government-backed loans.