Wolverhampton pharmacist handed suspended sentence for submitting false information to secure Covid-19 funding

Registered pharmacist Sundip Gill trades from four businesses located in Wolverhampton.

These include Collateral, Your Pharmacy First in Fallings Park, Low Hill Pharmacy, and Fallings Park Pharmacy. He is also a director of two pharmaceutical companies, Sync Chem Ltd and Collateral Ltd.

During Covid-19, the Government introduced grants to assist and support local businesses to continue to trade.

Wolverhampton Council allocated extra funding through the introduction of its 'Relight Programme'. 

The grants were designed to support local businesses to improve their premises and increase carbon efficiency, with two types of grants available, both intended to support the recovery of the local economy.

Businesses could apply for both grants and if they met the qualifying criteria, would be awarded up to £5,000 for each successful application. Applications had to be accompanied by two like-for-like quotations for planned improvement works.

Gill submitted eight grant applications to the 'Relight Programme' and could potentially have received a total of £40,000.

However, the local authority's Counter Fraud Team were alerted to discrepancies with the quotations supplied by Gill, prompting further checks.

It was then discovered that Gill, of Windmill Lane in Wolverhampton, had submitted fake quotations in support of his grant applications.

The 43-year-old was charged with 18 offences of dishonesty and Sync Chem Ltd and Collateral Ltd were charged with six offences of dishonesty, all under sections 1, 2 and 7 of the Fraud Act 2006.

Gill denied the charges but was found guilty on all counts and at Dudley Magistrates Court on February 21 was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 200-hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months and pay £3,000 costs and a £128 victim surcharge. 

Meanwhile, Sync Chem Ltd was ordered to pay a fine of £12,000, £2,500 costs, and a £190 victim surcharge and Collateral Ltd was ordered to pay a fine of £6,000, £2,500 costs, and £190 victim surcharge.

During sentencing, District Judge Graham Wilkinson told Gill: “You have been convicted for being fully involved in fraud and your attempts to exploit a system to assist legitimate businesses.” He added that Gill had shown “no remorse".

Councillor Louise Miles, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for resources, added: “The Relight Programme was designed to support local business through, and to recover from, the Covid-19 pandemic, and not to be abused in the way that it was by Sundip Gill.

"The council has a policy of zero tolerance towards public sector fraud. It is far from a victimless crime, and its impacts ripple through our society, affecting every individual and the services we all rely on, and we will not hesitate to take action in instances like this.”