A former pizzeria boss who claimed £10,000 in emergency loans during the pandemic has been ordered to do unpaid work.

Jamshid Karim, 33, suggested he did not appreciate he was not entitled to claim the council-awarded cash for Thunder Pizza, Henley.

The takeaway was not operational as Thunder Pizza at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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By the time the case reached Oxford Crown Court this week, Karim had already repaid the cash he had wrongly claimed from South Oxfordshire District Council under the government loan scheme.

He pleaded guilty on a basis to a single count of money laundering. Syan Ventom, for the district council, offered no evidence to support a separate charge of fraud.

Kellie Enever, defending, said of her client: “The difficulty for this defendant is the loss of good character. That has huge ramifications for any person and is, in fact, taken for granted in my submission these days.”

Karim had been working for Transport for London for more than a year.

Recorder John Ryder KC said the fact Karim had no previous convictions and had repaid the money in full were ‘both factors of very considerable mitigation’.

He imposed a 12 month community order with 50 hours of unpaid work. Karim, of Charles Gardens, Slough, must also pay the prosecution costs of £4,260.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward