Former chip shop owner pleads guilty to Covid subsidy fraud

Enfield resident Huseyin Bozkina falsely obtained more than £19,000 in grants for Popeye’s in Cockfosters despite no longer running it

A former owner of Cockfosters chip shop has pleaded guilty to fraud after falsely obtaining more than £19,000 in Covid business grants.

Huseyin Bozkina, of Blanchard Grove, Enfield, made eight applications to Barnet Council for the grants, which were available to help businesses struggling during the pandemic.

Bozkina previously ran Popeye’s fish and chip shop in Mount Parade, Cockfosters, but was no longer trading when she applied for grants totaling £19,246. He had turned the business over to someone else who paid him rent.

An investigation by the council’s anti-fraud team found that some of the documents provided to support the claims had been altered to make it appear he was still trading.

Bozkina admitted making the applications and receiving the funds, but denied submitting false documents, claiming someone named Mahmood must have altered and submitted them without his knowledge.

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However, he could not show any correspondence between himself and Mahmood, claiming that he “blew up” the documents on his phone. Further investigation found that the phone number provided to Mahmood was linked to Bozkina and the phone line was registered months after the crimes took place.

Appearing at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on May 23, Bozkina pleaded guilty to five counts of Fraud by false representation (section 2 Fraud Act 2006) and four offenses contrary to section 7 Fraud Act 2006: supplying articles for use during or in relation to fraud. The matter was referred to Harrow Crown Court for sentencing.

A Barnet Council spokesman said: “It is vitally important that we protect public funds so that they can be used for their intended purpose – to benefit the residents of our borough.

“We will pursue anyone found to be making fraudulent claims at taxpayer expense and do everything in our power to ensure they are brought to justice.”

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