Zeeshan Ashraf, 46, of Hall Green in Birmingham, an ACCA chartered accountant and one-time director of A-Z Certified Accountants Limited, to defraud three separate covid schemes, including Eat Out to Help Out, bounce back loans, and furlough, claiming over £300,000 fraudulently in the first year of the covid pandemic.

The 46-year-old fraudulently obtained £268,102 between April 2020 and April 2021 and attempted to claim a further £52,733.

Ashraf was jailed for three years and eight months in February 2025 after admitting five counts of fraud and has now been handed a confiscation order for £307,690 at Birmingham Crown Court last week. He has three weeks to pay the amount or will face a further two-and-a-half years in prison and would still owe the full amount.