A businessman fraudulently claimed around half a million pounds in incentive payments to save his struggling company and the jobs of his employees, a Court heard.

Haider Hasmi, 38, claimed rebate payments from a large supplier for thousands of central heating boilers he had not purchased.

Prosecutor Duncan Ritchie told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Hasmi’s motivation for the offending was pride and the money had not been used to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Mr Ritchie said the reason Hasmi had committed the offences was because the business had suffered as a result of the recession and he wanted it to appear to be still prospering. The money had been used to purchase stock and pay suppliers.

Mr Ritchie said that in 2005, the Baxi Group, which manufactured and distributed central heating boilers, introduced an incentive scheme to pay £50 to £70 for every boiler that was bought.

Hasmi, the proprietor of a plumbers merchants, started by his parents, with two shops in Bradford, legitimately used the scheme for four years.

He would purchase a boiler from a wholesalers and invoice Baxi Group, which then paid the rebate into his business account.

Between 2005 and 2008 he was paid £23,000 in genuine rebates for between 189 and 396 boilers. But in 2009 the number of claims he made increased to 2,098, and to 3,724 the following year. The rise went unnoticed by Baxi Group until 2011.

In all, his company claimed rebates for 7,798 boilers, when only 84 were purchased. The fraudulent rebate claims were in the region of £524,000 before VAT was taken into account.

Mr Ritchie said the frauds were committed by Hasmi forging genuine invoices.

The prosecutor said Hasmi wanted the business to appear to be thriving under his stewardship. Once the fraud was discovered he reached an agreement with the company to repay almost £400,000, which he did through loans from his family. But Baxi Group still considered it was £123,000 out of pocket.

Hasmi, of Emm Lane, Heaton, Bradford, pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud.

His barrister, Abbas Lakha QC, said: “This wasn’t a man who was driven by greed. There is no suggestion that this money was in any way spent on a luxurious lifestyle.”

The judge, Recorder Michael Smith, said they were serious offences but the company did not suffere any significant financial loss and he was able to show mercy.

“I bear in mind that this fraud was designed to keep the business going.”

Hasmi was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for a year, with 300 hours unpaid work, and ordered to pay £123,000 compensation.