Sundip Gill is a registered pharmacist trading from four separate business premises located in Wolverhampton, including chemist shops named Collateral, Your Pharmacy First, Low Hill Pharmacy, and Fallings Park Pharmacy. He is also a director of 2 pharmaceutical companies, Sync Chem Ltd and Collateral Ltd.
During the Covid 19 pandemic, the Government introduced grants to assist and support local businesses to continue to trade.
The City of Wolverhampton Council allocated extra funding through the introduction of its Relight Programme. The grants were designed to support local businesses to improve their premises and increase carbon efficiency, with 2 types of grants available, both intended to support the recovery of the local economy.
Businesses could apply for both grants and, if they met the qualifying criteria, would be awarded up to £5,000 for each successful application. Applications had to be accompanied by 2 like for like quotations for planned improvement works.
Gill submitted 8 grant applications to the Relight Programme and could potentially have received a total of £40,000.
However, the council’s Counter Fraud Team were alerted to discrepancies with the quotations supplied by Gill leading to further checks whereupon it was discovered that Gill had submitted fake quotations in support of his grant applications.
Following a detailed investigation, Gill was charged with 18 offences of dishonesty and Sync Chem Ltd and Collateral Ltd were charged with 6 offences of dishonesty, all under sections 1, 2 and 7 of the Fraud Act 2006.
Gill denied the charges but was subsequently found guilty on all counts and, at Dudley Magistrates Court on Friday (21 February, 2025), Gill was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months, 200 hours unpaid work to be completed within 12 months and ordered to pay £3,000 costs and a £128 victim surcharge. Meanwhile, Sync Chem Ltd was ordered to pay a fine of £12,000, £2,500 costs, and a £190 victim surcharge and Collateral Ltd was ordered to pay a fine of £6,000, £2,500 costs, and £190 victim surcharge.
During sentencing District Judge Graham Wilkinson told Gill: “You have been convicted for being fully involved in fraud and your attempts to exploit a system to assist legitimate businesses.” He added that Gill had shown “no remorse.”
Councillor Louise Miles, the council’s Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “The Relight Programme was designed to support local business through, and to recover from, the Covid-19 pandemic, and not to be abused in the way that it was by Sundip Gill.
"The council has a policy of zero tolerance towards public sector fraud. It is far from a victimless crime, and its impacts ripple through our society, affecting every individual and the services we all rely on, and we will not hesitate to take action in instances like this.”
