Hotel Owner made Fraudulent Eat Out to Help Out Claims

A hotel owner has been jailed for taking advantage of the government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme and fraudulently claiming thousands of pounds.

Shahid Naseeb Ahmed owned the Merchants Hotel in Back Piccadilly, Manchester.

He tried to falsely claim approximately £138,840 from the Eat Out To Help Out Scheme (EOTHO) and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The claims were made between April 2020 and August 2021.

At the time of the claims, the 42-year-old was the hotel’s sole director.

Under the EOTHO scheme, Ahmed falsely claimed £61,165 and from the CJRS, he claimed £51,708.

The EOTHO scheme encouraged people to dine out by giving them a discount. Restaurants and cafes could then claim back from the government.

It was designed to help the catering industry, which had been rocked by the Covid-19 lockdown.

The CJRS supported UK employers who were unable to maintain their workforce due to their operations being affected by the pandemic.

An investigation was launched when HMRC became suspicious of Ahmed’s claims.

It was found that food was not served at the hotel. The only ‘catering’ was a kettle in the hotel bedrooms.

Despite this, the hotel owner claimed for thousands of diners.

Ahmed also claimed for two separate hotels, Merchants Hotel Ltd and Merchants MCR. But in reality, there was only one.

Under the CJRS, Ahmed falsely claimed part-time staff were full-time. He also said they were paid more than they were.

He said his business was closed during the period of the claims. But it had reopened for part of the period.

After enquiries with several banks, it was confirmed that Ahmed was the sole recipient of the payments.

Ahmed was arrested on October 20, 2021, and taken to Bury Police Station.

He explained that he has owned the Merchants Hotel since 2006 and admitted he overclaimed on the Job Retention Scheme and his Eat Out To Help Out claims were “completely fabricated”.

At Manchester Crown Court, Ahmed pleaded guilty to 25 counts of fraud. Seven other counts were allowed to lie on file.

Ahmed was jailed for three years and four months.

After sentencing, Senior Crown Court Prosecutor Maqsood Khan, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Fraud Unit, said:

“Shahid Ahmed cynically took advantage of two Government schemes designed to help businesses survive a national crisis.”

“He submitted fraudulent claim after fraudulent claim over many months – his fraud was systematic, deliberate and planned. He tried several ways to get as much money as he could.

“There are lots of demands on the public purse and these schemes were designed to help genuine claimants.

“People like Shahid Ahmed undermine the system and take money that is badly needed elsewhere.”