James Leslie, 45, of Upton Lane, Dundry, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday 23 July.

His father William Leslie, 74, and of the same address, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in June after making a second Bounce Back Loan application for the Logan Housing Limited business where he and his son were the sole directors. He was sentenced at the same hearing to 16 months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “James Leslie made numerous deliberate false representations to secure money he was not entitled to during a national emergency.

“His father William Leslie also knowingly made a fraudulent application under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which was introduced to support viable businesses through the pandemic.

“The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to prosecute these cases, and both the father and son now have criminal convictions as a consequence of their actions.”

James Leslie applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan on behalf of Dartmouth Homes Ltd, where he was a director. In the application, Leslie claimed the turnover for Dartmouth Homes in 2019 was £250,000 and that the company had been badly affected by the pandemic. He said he was aware he was committing an offence by making such a false declaration but was “desperate for the money”.

Leslie later admitted that Dartmouth Homes had been dormant for a number of years, was not trading, and had no turnover. Money from the loan was transferred by Leslie to Logan Housing Limited and Northwick Homes Limited, both companies where he was a director. Leslie made a second fraudulent Bounce Back Loan application one month later in June 2020, claiming a £300,000 turnover for his Bampton Developments Ltd business. As with the previous application, the figure was overstated, with analysis of the company’s bank account showing a turnover of little more than £18,000 for 2019.

Bampton Developments was also not trading at the time Leslie made his application. In interviews, Leslie admitted using the funds from this loan for the benefit of Northwick Homes.

Leslie’s father, William Leslie, also broke the rules of the scheme when he applied for a Bounce Back Loan worth £50,000 for Logan Housing in May 2020. An application for a separate £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for the same company had been made just three days earlier. William Leslie admitted that the first application had been made with his knowledge and consent and that he was acting dishonestly in making the second application.

Confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are now being pursued against each defendant.