Lavinia-Larisa Mociar claimed £50,000 to support Harrow-based L&M Construct, of which she was a director. However, the business had already ceased trading when the application was made.

Under the rules of the scheme, businesses applying for the loan had to be actively trading in March 2020. Companies could apply for loans of up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, to a maximum of £50,000, to help keep their business afloat during the pandemic.

Lavinia-Larisa Mociar, aged 31 and originally from Romania, was the sole director of L&M Construct Ltd until the company went into liquidation in November 2021. But the company had stopped trading in October 2019 – a year before she applied for the Bounce Back Loan, which was meant to help support businesses through the pandemic.

Investigators from the Insolvency Service discovered that not only had L&M Construct Ltd not been trading in 2020, but that Mociar had also exaggerated the company’s turnover to claim the maximum £50,000. There had been less than £50 in the company’s bank account when the loan was deposited in October 2020.

Mociar then withdrew more than £50,000 from the company account before the end of 2020 – a further abuse of the scheme, as the money was not being used for the economic benefit of the business.

The company went into liquidation owing around £50,000, including the full amount of the loan.

Mociar’s directors ban, which started on 8th November 2022, means that she is prohibited from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company – either directly, or indirectly – without the permission of the court until November 2033.

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