Bankrupts provide false details to secure loans
Bankrupts from Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and South-West London handed bankruptcy restrictions after all provided false details to secure £165,000 of loans.
Nadia Butt, from Birmingham, and Dorota Suchocka, from Barnes, South-West London are subject to 11-year and 10-year Bankruptcy Restriction Undertakings, while Heidi Carruthers is subject to a court-imposed 8-year Bankruptcy Restriction Order.
All three received their additional bankruptcy restrictions after the Official Receiver conducted separate investigations and deemed Nadia Butt, Dorota Suchocka and Heidi Carruthers a risk to future creditors.
Nadia Butt, Dorota Suchocka and Heidi Carruthers are restricted from being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing their bankrupt status and they also cannot act as a company director without permission from the court.
Nadia Butt was made bankrupt in August 2021 and the Official Receiver was appointed as her trustee. The Official Receiver discovered that Nadia Butt wanted to start an online consultancy to help smaller businesses and secured a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan.
However, Nadia Butt was ineligible to receive a Bounce Back. She declared her anticipated turnover was £220,000, which was vastly exaggerated, and that the business had been trading on 1 March 2020, which was not true.
Further enquiries found that after Nadia Butt received the government loan, she made various payments to family members and a friend but has been unable to prove that this benefited the business.
Dorota Suchocka was self-employed mini cab driver and was made bankrupt in October 2021 before the Official Receiver was appointed her trustee.
The Official Receiver found that in October 2019, Dorota Suchocka successfully applied for three loans worth £75,000.
However, each application included false details. Dorota Suchocka used a fake employer and inflated her income as being four times higher than what she earned as a mini cab driver. The monthly repayments for the three loans were more than Dorota Suchocka’s average monthly earnings.
And Heidi Carruthers was made bankrupt in February 2021 and was unemployed at the time the Official Receiver was appointed her trustee.
The Official Receiver’s enquiries uncovered that in September 2018 Heidi Carruthers used a third party’s name to secure just under £34,000 to buy a car on finance before selling the vehicle to someone who was unaware she didn’t own the car outright.
At the time Heidi Carruthers secured the loan she was insolvent and couldn’t make the payments as she had three unpaid County Court Judgements and her only income was through benefits.
Heidi Carruthers refused to co-operate with the Official Receiver and this resulted in the court imposing her 8-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order on 4 August 2022 in the County Court at Birmingham before District Judge Rich .
Official Receiver David Chapman said:
When applying for loans or any type of credit, the onus is on the applicant to provide correct information so that the lender can make an accurate assessment before making any payments.
Nadia Butt, Dorota Suchocka and Heidi Carruthers all showed a complete lack of disregard to their duties as an applicant or the consequence of their actions on their lenders. All three have received substantial bankruptcy restrictions and this will protect potential creditors from further abuse.
Notes to editors
Nadia Butt is of Birmingham and her 11-year BRU was effective from 7 September 2022
Dorota Suchocka is of Barnes, South-West London, and her 10-year BRU was effective from 30 May 2022.
Heidi Carruthers is from Stoke-On-Trent, and her 8-year BRO was effective from 4 August 2022.
Bankruptcy restrictions are wide ranging. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or to an undertaking. Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking.