A man has been jailed for deceitfully obtaining a £50,000 Covid loan backed by the government in order to assist in fulfilling a £72 million court order related to a previous fraud case, said police.

After Gerald Smith, 69, used £22,000 of the bounce-back loan for court costs associated with a 2006 fraud case he was involved in, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail for the offense, according to City of London Police.

He also spent the money on “a lavish lifestyle of eating at Mayfair restaurants and purchasing designer clothes, Apple products and flights abroad”, the force added.

Bounce-back loans were issued to support UK businesses during the pandemic and applicants could request up to £50,000.

They would apply to a nominated lender and the funds were guaranteed by the government.

Smith, of Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, central London, applied for £50,000 using the name Ian Dunbar, who was listed as a director of Arcana Solutions, the force said.

The funds were paid out by Arcana Solutions and signed by electronic signature as Ian Dunbar, it added.

Officers found Ian Dunbar and Smith were the same person and he was arrested in 2022.

The force said he “remained silent throughout all questions put to him” after his arrest.

Detective Inspector Andrea Bakewell, from the fraud operations team at City of London Police, said: “When many businesses were struggling to keep their head above water during the Covid pandemic, criminals were making use of the financial aid on offer.

“Gerald Smith demonstrated an incredible degree of manipulation, conceit and greed as he exploited the bounce-back loan scheme offered by the government.