Fraudster posed as Greggs worker to con council out of £710,000
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Aftab Baig, of Paisley Road West in Glasgow, pretended to work at the popular high street bakery to make fraudulent grant claims against 32 branches - despite having no links to the business whatsoever. The 47-year-old claimed relief from the small business grant fund, designed to keep small businesses afloat during the Covid lockdown, to be paid into his business account for his own catering business. Baig contacted Leeds City Council in May 2020 pretending to be a property manager at Greggs head office asking for business rates numbers for Leeds branches - details which he claimed he could not access himself due to lockdown - so he could apply for the fund.
History of this topic
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