Buckinghamshire events director sentenced for Covid fraud
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-28)

Bounce Back Loan fraudster convicted following Insolvency Service investigations

William Blenkarn claimed he did not know he was not entitled to a second Bounce Back Loan for MJB Events Limited

Blenkarn obtained double the amount of Covid support his company was entitled to as a result of his fraudulent declaration

Money from the loan was then transferred to a new company Blenkarn had set up just weeks into the pandemic

The owner of two Buckinghamshire-based events companies has been handed a suspended sentence after receiving £100,000 in Covid support funds when he was only entitled to half that figure.

William Blenkarn secured two Bounce Back Loans worth £50,000 each for his MJB Events Limited company, breaking the rules of the scheme which specifically stated that businesses could only have a single loan.

The 48-year-old then transferred £41,000 from the company’s bank account to his second business – MJB Entertainment Group Ltd – which had only been set up weeks before his fraudulent application.

Blenkarn, formerly of London End, Beaconsfield, but now living in Spain, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, at Aylesbury Crown Court on Thursday 24 April.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

William Blenkarn’s company received double the amount of public money it deserved due to his false declaration when applying for a second Bounce Back Loan.

This was taxpayers’ money and Blenkarn made matters worse by moving a significant proportion of the loan over to his new company which had only been trading for a few months.

MJB Events was incorporated in January 2016 and was described as an events company. MJB Entertainment Group was set up in early April 2020.

Blenkarn told the Insolvency Service that MJB Entertainment Group was created to manage and book artists but developed into organising a range of charity events.

The company also described itself as providing additional services such as marquee design and wedding planning.

Blenkarn applied to two different banks for £50,000 Bounce Back Loans - the maximum allowed under the scheme - on behalf of MJB Events in May 2020.

For his second application, Blenkarn ticked the online declaration to certify that this was the only application made on behalf of the business.

Despite this, Blenkarn claimed he did not know that he could only apply for one loan for each company.

Two payments of £25,000 and £16,000 were then made to MJB Entertainment Group from the bank account belonging to MJB Events in July 2020.

These transactions left the MJB Events account overdrawn by around £25,000 at the time liquidators were appointed in June 2021, depriving creditors of the funds.

Blenkarn also breached his duties as a director by failing to deliver accounting records for MJB Events to the liquidator as he was required to do by law.

The Insolvency Service is seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Further information

William Blenkarn is formerly of London End, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. His date of birth is 23 July 1976

MJB Events Limited (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/xx-xxxx-xxxx) (company number xx-xxxx-xxxx)

MJB Entertainment Group Ltd (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12552117) (company number 12552117)

Read more about the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and the action the Insolvency Service can take if it finds misconduct (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fact-sheet-bounce-back-loans/fact-sheet-bounce-back-loans#if-we-find-misconduct)

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service).