Man jailed for using £300k Covid fund for holidays

A man who spent £300,000 of Covid support on family holidays, private school fees, and other personal spending has been jailed.

Steven Brookes, 40, of Victoria Road, Bude, Cornwall, was jailed for three years and banned as a director for 10 years when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.

He used funds from six fraudulently obtained Bounce Back Loans to pay for a trip to Disneyland, a holiday rental in Tenerife, and an Audi with personalised number plates for his wife, according to The Insolvency Service.

He previously plead guilty to six counts of fraud and five counts of acting as a director while disqualified at this crown court on the 12 Nov 2025.

Brookes applied for the loans in his wife's name, without her knowledge, and opened company bank accounts in her name to receive the funds, it said.

He made six Bounce Back Loan applications across five companies between May and October 2020.

In each case, he made the application in his wife's name without her knowledge, having been disqualified as a company director for 11 years in April 2010 after a conviction for stealing mobile phones.

The 40-year-old also paid £7,000 in fees for his daughter to attend an independent day and boarding school in Devon.

David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Steven Brookes cynically hid behind his wife's identity to steal £300,000 in Covid support funds.

"Bounce Back Loans were not a personal bank account for company directors to use on paying for holidays, school fees and other luxury items.

"Brookes broke almost every rule going. He submitted false turnover figures, secured two loans when companies were only allowed one, and criminally misused the funds.

"He did all this while ignoring a director ban which had been in place for a decade at the time of his fraudulent actions.

"The Insolvency Service has relentlessly pursued Covid fraudsters since the pandemic. We are equally determined to enforce director bans - and hold those who wilfully break them to account."

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