Anna Dalecka, 48, from Enfield was earning just £4,000 when she applied for the full £50,000 bounce back loan during the pandemic, claiming to be a self-employed housekeeper.

She inflated her earnings by 55 times her actual salary to qualify for the full amount, which should have been used for the financial benefit of her company.

The application for the loan was made in August 2020, but come December 2020 the whole amount of the loan was not in her company account. Dalecka also transferred money to third parties in London.

She transferred £20,000 of the money to personal accounts in the UK, and another £10,000 to accounts in Poland before declaring herself bankrupt in 2021. This led to the Insolvency Service opening an investigation.

Dalecka was found guilty of fraud by false representation under section 1 of Fraud Act 2006. She was given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years, a three-month curfew and 300 hours of unpaid work.

Julie Barnes, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘Anna Dalecka took advantage of a government scheme designed to keep businesses afloat during one of the toughest times for UK businesses.

‘She abused that support by wildly overstating her turnover to claim more money than her business was entitled to.

‘Her sentence shows that the Insolvency Service will bring those who abuse public money to justice.’