Alnwick gym owner faked information to pocket almost £25,000 in business grants

Oliver Dial was given cash from The Leader Programme, a rural development scheme aimed at helping businesses flourish, to invest in his Elite Fitness gym in Alnwick, Northumberland.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the monies were supposed to be handed to firms to cover 40 percent of bills they had already paid out for essentials that would make their business grow.

Under the scheme, Dial was given £16,320 towards newly delivered gym equipment and £8,307 towards building works carried out at his firm.

But Newcastle Crown Court heard investigations revealed the 40-year-old had obtained the gym equipment on finance and the invoice for the building work had been doctored to give misleading information.

Dial, of Rochester Drive, Felton, Northumberland, admitted two charges of knowingly or recklessly furnishing false or misleading information in his applications, which were made in 2018.

Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth QC sentenced him to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 100 hours unpaid work.

The judge told him: "To fund the development of your business you made dishonest use of grant schemes available to those developing businesses in Northumberland, a council rural development programme.

"On Rural Development for England claim form you said the items in question had been paid for, when in fact you had paid a deposit that required the balance on finance.

"You provided forged evidence in respect of building work you claimed had been paid for by altering a quotation for work that was to be done."

The judge told the court: "These are serious matters. The courts have a duty to protect those who administer, on the public's behalf, grants to genuine recipients of them."

Recorder Hedworth said Dial's offending involved a "degree of sophistication".

The judge told him: "This sort of misusing and deliberately obtaining of public money is something that does cross the custody threshold.

"It is important that a message has to go out from the courts."

The court heard Dial has never been in trouble before and provided a number of references to his otherwise positive character.

Adam Birkby, defending Dial, told the court that Dial did not provide the misleading information to "feather his own nest" but to use for the purpose which the grant was intended, to develop his business through refurbishment and building work.

Mr Birkby said Dial is a hard working family man who ended up investing so much into his business that he could have, legitimately, applied for more grants but chose not to.

Mr Birkby added: "What he has done is establish a commercially successful and very popular gym for local people, recognised both locally and nationally for the success.

"He has provided employment for several local people.

"He did wrong, he accepts that. His overwhelming concern was if he didn't get the grant he couldn't do the development in time and business would be impacted upon.

"He accepts the end cannot justify the means."

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