A pizza company owner from Tyneside has been sentenced to two years in prison for fraudulently obtaining £150,000 in Covid Bounce Back Loans, which he spent on gambling and children's toys.
Matthew Temple, 44, secured three £50,000 Bounce Back Loans for his business, Pizza Cottage (Whitley Bay) Limited, on East Parade in Whitley Bay. At the time of the offences, he was known as Mehdi Ghaneh-Keisami. All three loans were obtained within just over a month during the pandemic, violating rules that allowed businesses only one such loan.
Scheme Background and Fraudulent Claims
The UK government introduced the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) in May 2020 to provide fast financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses could borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their annual turnover, capped at £50,000. Temple claimed the maximum amount three times.
Pizza Cottage (Whitley Bay) Limited was incorporated in June 2016, with Temple as its sole director. In May 2020, shortly after the scheme launched, he secured the first £50,000 loan. Just three days later, he applied for a second, falsely claiming it was the company's only application. The following month, he secured a third, again deceiving authorities.
Investigation Findings and Sentencing
Although Temple declared the funds would benefit the business, the Insolvency Service found that £131,419 of the £150,000 was not spent exclusively for business purposes. This included £11,090 spent on 46 gambling transactions from one business account in less than two weeks in July 2020, and £264 on children's toys and play equipment on May 7, 2020, one day after the first loan was deposited.
When questioned about obtaining a second loan, Temple told investigators: "I know it was my fault, I shouldn't… I should tell them it was my second, but they didn't check it either." He pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court in September. He had previously been disqualified from serving as a company director for 12 years in 2024 after civil investigations by the Insolvency Service.
Recovery Efforts and Impact
Temple, residing at Bank Court in North Shields, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday, October 23. The Insolvency Service is now working to recover the fraudulently acquired funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Matthew Temple exploited a taxpayer-backed scheme designed to help businesses through the pandemic by obtaining three £50,000 loans when his company was entitled to only one. Company funds were then spent on gambling and even children's toys and play equipment, despite Temple declaring the money would be used for the benefit of his business."
"Temple is now beginning a two-year prison sentence, but our work does not stop at securing a conviction. We are also seeking to recover the money he fraudulently obtained and return funds to the public purse."
